WEEKLY
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Cheltenham Dad viewed sexual images of children Gloucester Crown Court
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COURT REPORTER
father from Cheltenham who viewed images of adults sexually abusing children was informed by a judge that he had lost his good name and his family forever. Judge William Hart said the public would be disgusted at 36year-old dad-of-two Stephen Wood’s addiction to owning and distributing images of child pornography. The judge also sent out a very strong message to those involved in computer child pornography that the police were getting far more sophisticated in bringing offenders to justice and that they will be caught. Imposing a suspended prison sentence at Gloucester Crown Court on Friday, after Wood admitted
possessing 7,710 indecent stills and 68 films of children, the judge told him: “Whatever punishment the court imposes can hardly match the fact that people will now be aware that you have gained sexual gratification from watching images of adults abusing children as young as three. He went on to say “This will fill right-minded people with revulsion and you will have to live with that. You have lost your wife, your children and your job’’. The Judge further commented,“others should be aware that indulging in child pornography will lead to their lives and reputations ending up in tatters.” Wood, formerly of Cheltenham but now of Lineham Drive, Quedgeley, had pleaded guilty to nine counts of making
indecent images of children, two counts of possessing indecent images and two counts of distributing indecent images. The offences took place between 2009 and 2013 in Cheltenham, where he previously lived with his wife and children. Prosecuting barrister Julian Kesner said: “Police received information in August last year that the defendant was distributing indecent images of children. They then searched his Cheltenham address in September, seizing his computer, storage devices and discs and then discovered the images.’. He went on to add: “The defendant has no previous convictions and was a man of previous good character.” Defending lawyer Lloyd Jenkins said: “This is a sad case and my client has a history of chronic addiction - to alcohol since the age of 12, drugs and later to pornography. “He is a broken man who has lost everything but he knows that he needs help and has made efforts off his own bat to get it. “His parents are in the public gallery today to support him;;’ Wood was sentenced to 14 months custody suspended for two years, with two years intense supervision. He was also ordered to sign the Sex Offenders Register for 10 years and was made the subject of a sex Offenders Prevention Order until further notice.
Foreign nurses needed by Gloucestershire’s hospitals
Cheltenham NHS Trust
It has been claimed hospitals need to act now to stop a nursing crisis from putting patients in Gloucestershire at risk. Portuguese nurses have been brought in along with newly qualified students from the University of the West of England but there is still a shortfall of qualified staff willing to work in Gloucestershire. As a result, the Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has been forced to look outside the UK again. An overseas recruitment programme is likely to be launched next month. The move follows comments from NHS England's new chief executive Simon Stevens, who has called for trusts to "think like a patient, and act like a taxpayer". Gloucestershire hospitals chief executive Dr Frank Harsent said trusts need to look abroad to learn from the way health care is delivered. "We are going back out to overseas recruitment next month as there are not enough qualified nurses available to work in Gloucestershire. We don't want to rely on bank staff and agencies to fill the gaps." Care Quality Commission guidelines state wards must now publicly display staffing levels to show the level of care on duty.