The Offender Database reported that Darren Hugh Hollywood, the Bognor Paedophile Sex Offender, tried to reduce his sentence for possession and distribution of horrific images of young children being raped, tortured, and killed.
The following is from the website of Berkeley Square Solicitors, and normally, we would paraphrase the text, but we thought against it as we aren’t lawyers, hoping they do not mind too much:
In R v Darren Hugh Hollywood [2024] EWCA Crim 591, dated May 10, 2024, the Court of Appeal was asked to review a 30-month imprisonment sentence handed down by Judge Ashworth at Portsmouth Crown Court.
Mr Darren Hugh Hollywood was charged with several offences, including both making and distributing indecent images.
The lead offence, involving the distribution of Category A images, resulted in a 30-month prison sentence.
Concurrent eight-month sentences were imposed for the other offences.
The Sentencing Guidelines suggest a starting point of three years’ custody for distribution offences, with a range of 2 to 5 years.
The evidence in this case revealed that Mr Hollywood had sent two Category A images, two Category B images, and one Category C image to an individual named Paul.
The images, which depicted children aged between seven and twelve, were sent on a single occasion, September 28, 2021.
In addition to these distribution charges, police found 185 Category A images, 120 Category B images, and 217 Category C images on various electronic devices at Mr Hollywood’s home during a search on January 22, 2023.
These findings formed the basis for the charges.
Mr Hollywood, from West Sussex, admitted to the offences during his police interview, explaining that his actions occurred while he was intoxicated and dealing with personal issues, including low self-esteem and health problems.
He later pleaded guilty to all charges.
Court of Appeal’s Decision
The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal, finding that the sentence imposed was not manifestly excessive.
The trial judge had initially imposed a notional sentence of 40 months after trial but reduced this by 25% to 30 months in recognition of Mr Darren Hugh Hollywood’s guilty plea.
This sentence exceeded the range for which a suspended sentence could be considered, which typically applies to custodial sentences of between 14 days and two years.
In its brief decision, the Court of Appeal rejected arguments that the 40-month notional sentence was excessive, despite the limited nature of the distribution (a single occasion) and the absence of prior similar offences.
The court also dismissed concerns that the distributed images did not contain the most severe aggravating factors present in other counts.
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