Shopped: Gravesend store staff find 'child abuse images' on man's mobile phone
Phone engineer Darren
Corcoran and shop owner Daniel Bennet outside Phonezone where the
images were discovered
by Lizzie Massey
Two shopkeepers held a man in their store after they found
suspected child abuse images on his mobile.
Daniel Bennett and Darren Corcoran, from Phonezone in Queens
Street, Gravesend, were shocked after two men came in and dropped
off a phone to be fixed... and they discovered what appeared to be
vile pictures.
Darren, 33, was looking for a fault on the iPhone when he
touched the screen and was confronted with a grid of around 45
allegedly explicit pictures of children engaged in sexual acts.
He immediately shouted for his boss Daniel, who called the
police.
The 36-year-old was asked by officers to describe the images
over the phone.
"I couldn't do it," he said. "They were sick, beyond sick. The
kids must have been between about five and 10-years-old.
"I just told them to get down here."
The pair say they just about managed to keep calm when the man
came back in to pick his phone up.
"He came back in and seemed really calculating, then he said 'well, seeing as you have me here against my will, I'd like a glass of water'. It was beyond strange..." – phone engineer Darren Corcoran
They checked his name and address and asked how long he had the
iPhone to make sure the pictures could only be his. The man
confirmed his identity.
"Once I knew that they were his pictures, I nearly lost it,"
said Darren. "We told him that we'd found the images and the police
were on their way."
The man then walked leisurely out of the shop and down the
street "as cool as a cucumber".
"We couldn't believe it, he didn't look fazed at all.
"We weren't sure what to do, you have to be so careful. We
didn't want to drag him back and end up being done for assault
ourselves."
But Daniel and Darren performed a citizen's arrest and ushered
the man back.
Darren added: "He came back in and seemed really calculating,
then he said 'well, seeing as you have me here against my will, I'd
like a glass of water'. It was beyond strange."
Police arrived at about 4.30pm and arrested a 21-year-old man
from Northfleet.
Later, a 34-year-old man was arrested in Wallis Park,
Northfleet. Both men have been bailed until April 18.
Police said inquiries were ongoing.
21/11/12
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