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Porn vicar locked up
A Lancashire vicar has been jailed for 12 months for downloading obscene child porn images.
Rev Paul Battersby was already subjected to a suspended prison sentence imposed two years ago after he was caught with indecent images while working as a priest at St Ambrose Church in Leyland.
But Battersby, who was in the ministry for 31 years, was locked up after being caught for a second time when he broke the rules of his previous court order by using a nickname on the internet to organise a missionary conference.
When officers seized his laptop they discovered nearly 160 sickening photographs of children being abused.
Judge David Aubrey QC at Liverpool Crown Court jailed 60-year-old Battersby for eight months for the new offences and activated four months of his previous sentence to run consecutively.
Ordering him to sign the Sex Offenders Register for 10 years, the judge said, "Being a highly intelligent and highly articulate man, you should well recognise that each image that you have observed for your own sexual gratification represents the abuse of a child.
"By doing that which you did you have perpetuated such abuse of such a young child."
Bearded Battersby, of College Drive, Bebington, Wirral, closed his eyes and sighed as he was sentenced.
In April 2007, the former Church of England National Youth Officer was turned in by his wife after his 17-year-old stepson spotted pornographic images on his computer.
One of the movies was of a 10-year-old girl being bound and raped by her father.
Battersby, who was then vicar of St Ambrose church in Leyland, received 34 weeks imprisonment suspended for two years, ordered to carry out 200 hours unpaid work and attend a sex offenders' programme.
But in April, Battersby bought a laptop and within months was using it to again access obscene images of youngsters.
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Weather for Leyland
Saturday 04 February 2012
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