Ex Borders health chief jailed for child porn

David Knox 1607 - 1607 • Published 29 Oct 2008 09:00 0 Comments

Share this

DISGRACED health chief Tom Skinner has been caged for two-and-a-half years.

The 63-year-old former secretary of NHS Borders will also face a further two years on licence after prowling child porn sites for sick images of kids.

And the dad-of-two will spend the rest of his life on the Sex Offenders" Register.

The online paedophile predator was fined £2000 in 2003 for similar charges of possessing pornographic computer images of children.

And he resigned from his high-paying job at Newstead.

Skinner stayed out of trouble for over three years but during routine police visits to his Midlem home last year it emerged he was still downloading indecent photos.

At an earlier hearing the health boss of 29 years admitted storing 445 pornographic images of children on his home computer between January 15 and July 31, last year.

Child porn experts use the Copine Scale to grade photos depending on their content - with one being nudity up to five which consist of rape and beastiality.

Skinner"s sick stash of pictures contained 253 Grade One, 67 Grade Two, 70 Grade Three, 58 Grade Four and 10 Grade Five.

Ashen-faced Skinner bowed his head in the dock as his offending was described in court.

Defence lawyer Roy Harley said: 'This is something he and his family have had to deal with and it has been made all the more dramatic because of his background.

'Up to his conviction in 2003 he led a blameless life both with his career and with his family.'

Chief Inspector David Strang, of Lothian and Borders Police, has also taken out a Sexual Offences Prevention Order against Skinner - which makes it illegal for the mild-mannered monster to approach anyone under 16 without supervision, log onto a computer, take a job, or move house without approval from the police.

Since admitting his second child porn offence back in August, Skinner has undergone psychological and social work interviews.

And the experts concluded he was unable to link his sick online surfing with the sexual suffering and exploitation of children around the world.

Sheriff Kevin Drummond, who privately viewed some of the images, said: 'It is a significant feature of this case that the offences were committed while the accused was already on the Sex Offenders" Register.

'I have come to the view that in relation to the quality of material and the fact that you have offended before that you have crossed the custody threshold.'

Skinner was sentenced to two-and-a-half years in prison with an extended two years to be served under licence on his release.

This article appeared in Border Telegraph 29 Oct 08

Return to the main index, get more from this section or browse our News archives.

Border Telegraph Poll

Do you prefer the new road layout in Galashiels to the old system?

Follow @bordertelegraph