Sick Benjamin Ward downloaded indecent images of animal abuse
by Chris Hunter
He was known as the man who ran gaming clubs for
teenagers.
But pervert Benjiman Ward had another hobby so sick he kept it
secret for more than a decade.
That was until his partner shopped him to police and kicked him
out of their house in Readerscroft Road, Rainham, when she found
he'd collected so many sickening images of children he needed a
warehouse to store them.
Ward, who ran a Gamers' Guild club on Tuesday nights at the
Rainham Community Centre, downloaded and made more than 10,000
indecent images of children and 1,000 movie clips, and regularly
viewed extreme pornographic images of people engaged in sexual
activity with live and dead animals - including dogs and
horses.
But the 46-year-old escaped jail when Judge David Griffith-Jones
gave him a suspended sentence and ordered he undertake a course of
treatment for his sexually perverted obsessions.
In a hearing that will send shudders through former club
members, Maidstone Crown Court heard how the 46-year-old's "deviant
proclivities" had got so out of control he had to rent a storage
unit in Gillingham Business Park to hide the burgeoning evidence of
his dark addiction.
That addiction had first come to light back in 1998, when his
partner's daughter discovered images on his computer, and Ward had
promised to cure himself of his obsession.
But that was easier said than done - Ward couldn't shake his
sick habit and his obsession carried on into the next millenium,
until he eventually went to his brother, a psychotherapist.
"He said 'you have to tell your partner'," recalled defence
barrister, Simon
"You have expressed remorse which I accept as genuine" – Judge David Griffith-Jones
Wickens."
He does so. He's given four hours to get out the house and she
rings the police."
Once reported, Ward immediately cooperated with
police, leading them straight to his shameful collection and
pleading guilty at the earliest opportunity to all 12 counts.
These were for possessing and making indecent and extreme
images, two counts of possessing images portraying an act of
intercourse with a dead or live animal, six counts of possessing
images of children, including movie clips, and four counts of
making indecent images of children.
Mr Wickens explained Ward had been exposed to sexual activity at
a young age, adding "some might look at what he experienced as a
form of abuse.
"That early sexualisation has led to an interest in and an
obsession with pornographic images of children."
Ward was previously a man of good character who had established
a successful career in computers, said Mr Wickens, and since
admitting his problems had sought to find help for them - working
with Lucy Faithful Foundation child protection agency, and
attending Sex Addicts Anonymous (SAA) meetings.
And the former gaming club organiser had now set up a different
club - his own SAA group - in an effort to help others.
Maidstone Crown Court -
where Ward was sentenced
Obese with his grey hair tied up above his head, wearing a red
fleece over his shirt and tie, Ward stood wide-eyed as Judge
Griffith-Jones addressed him for sentence.
The judge said the images concerned fell into category four, in
the scale of one to five, but added: "there's a fair amount of
mitigation.
"You have expressed remorse which I accept as genuine. You stand
before me as a result of a series of events that brought these
matters to police attention after you yourself made disclosure of
them to others, that being a result of your desire to address your
deviant thinking."
He imposed a 10-month prison sentence suspended for two years,
as well as a two-year supervision order. Ward will also be on the
Sex Offenders Register for 10 years.
16/11/12
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