Paper's massive error of judgment over paedophilia

[Jan Klimkowski]

More PIE for Henley:

A paedophile who campaigned for the age of consent to be lowered was today jailed after a collection of hardcore child pornography was found at his home.

David Arthur Joy, 66, was a member of the Paedophile Information Exchange (PIE), an international organisation which believed that children were sexual beings in their own right.

The former teacher had pleaded guilty at Leicester crown court to 11 counts of making or possessing indecent images of children in April this year.

Today he was handed an indeterminate prison sentence and told he must serve a minimum of 18 months before he can be considered for parole.

But the judge, Michael Pert QC, said that given Joy's beliefs, that day "may never come".

He added: "It's clear that you hold firmly to a set of beliefs involving sexual activity with adults and children.

"Those beliefs are wholly in variance to the views held by most members of society, views that most of society would find abhorrent."

The PIE made national newspaper headlines in the early 1980s when members faced charges of publishing and sending obscene articles through the post.

The practice caused widespread concern and MPs lobbied the then home secretary, Leon Brittan, to ban the group.

Last year, as part of coordinated raids on the remaining members of PIE, officers from Scotland Yard's paedophile unit swooped on Joy's one-bedroom flat in Loughborough, Leicestershire.

The court heard that the property was so untidy that officers had to climb around rotting piles of newspapers, rubbish and clutter to find what they were looking for.

Police eventually unearthed some 1,129 indecent images involving children as young as one held in files by Joy's bed, between the pages of books and on two home computers.

Several images were in the very worst "level 5" category, which includes sadism.

Among the haul, police also found photographs, believed to have been taken by Joy himself, of young children in swimwear on beaches.

Joy, a member of PIE's governing committee, pleaded guilty at a previous hearing to four counts of making indecent images between January 1 2000 and January 24 2006, and to seven counts of possession.

The court was told he had a string of previous convictions for child sex offences dating back to the 1970s and 1980s, including the attempted rape of a young girl and indecent assault.

In mitigation, Steven Gosnell, defending, said his client had not touched a child for more than 20 years and now led a reclusive life.

Detective Constable Richard Morgan, of Scotland Yard's paedophile unit, said today: "David Joy is an educated, intelligent man who, along with his fellow PIE associates, holds an unwavering and lifelong-held belief that he should be able to have sex with children.

"He has backed this up in the past with constructive argument, and in my opinion represents an ongoing danger to children."

Mr Morgan added that Joy's conviction represented the "last piece in the jigsaw", with all of the leading PIE associates now serving prison sentences.

Entirely predictably, the Court of Appeal released Joy after a year:

A PERVERT who led a campaign to legalise sex with kids was smirking behind bars last night after his "indefinite" jail term was slashed to A YEAR.

David Joy, 66 once No2 in the notorious Paedophile Information Exchange or PIE was warned earlier this year he may die in prison after admitting child porn offences.

But yesterday three Court of Appeal judges ruled the indefinite sentence was inappropriate as Joy had only accessed porn for himself and was not a serious danger to the public.

The decision by Mr Justice Nicholas Blake, Lord Justice Andrew Longmore and Sir Christopher Holland sparked outrage among child welfare campaigners.

In August they had celebrated when Judge Michael Pert told Joy he would serve at least 18 months before being freed but added: "You must face the prospect that, granted your firmly-held beliefs, that day may not come."

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Pony-tailed divorcee Joy led PIE's campaign in the 1970s and 80s for sex with children as young as FOUR to be legalised.

But in 1984 he was jailed for 18 months for publishing obscene material in a PIE newsletter.

In 1996 he got two more years after admitting indecent assaults dating back to the 80s.

Then in January 2006 cops found 1,129 images of children aged one to 13 at his rundown flat in Loughborough, Leics.

Some were in the level 5 category featuring sado-masochism, torture or bestiality.

Last night Shy Keenan, of child-abuse support group Phoenix Survivors, fumed: "Joy is one of the most dangerous sex offenders in the country. He should be locked up for good.

"Jail is the only proper place for him, not just because of what he has done but because of the fact he promotes those views. He is a man with no remorse."