Appeal Court judges refuse to reduce child pron pervert's sentence

Jon Pinkerton, 51, was locked up for 32 months at Durham Crown Court in August last year after admitting a string of child porn offences.

The judge who jailed Pinkerton, of Moray Close, Peterlee, said he had gone beyond the normal sentencing guidelines because of the horrific nature of some of the material.

His comments followed a police officer’s observations that several of the images were “the worst ever seen” by Durham Police.

But his case reached London’s Appeal Court today as Pinkerton’s legal team challenged his sentence, claiming it was far too tough.

One image was of “torture and sexual depravity” involving a girl of only three or four, the court heard.

His lawyers claimed that was “not representative”, but Lord Justice Treacy, sitting with Mr Justice Jay and the Judge David Stockdale QC, refused to cut his sentence.