Both found guilty in this landmark case

44 year old John Morrison & 63 year old John Parratt were part of a ring of five who exchanged images both photographic and drawings of child abuse - they were caught after a covert investigation launched in 2008 by the Met’s Child Abuse Investigation Command.

The ring was led by Stephen Freeman from Catford, and the five men attended regular 'parties' where they would exchange a wealth of material, including images, videos and even computer games. Some of the material constituted abuse deemed to be of the most serious nature (Level 5).

It is a landmark case involving what police believe to be the first prosecution in England and Wales of an individual for making drawings depicting child abuse concluded yon 12 May at The Old Bailey.

All five men were found guilty and will return to be sentenced on June 3 at the Old Bailey. Detective Inspector Paul Maddocks from the MPS Child Abuse Investigation Command said: "
I am delighted with these convictions which have seen five individuals who pose a significant threat to society convicted and held accountable for their most serious of crimes. This was a long and complex investigation involving the analysis of a large amount of material and I would like to thank the CPS for their support with the case.

"As a former executive committee member of the Paedophile Information Exchange (PIE), Freeman was instrumental in bringing this group of men together and encouraging the exchange of material. Even when caught, his arrogance was such that he refused to provide police with the key to a large quantity of encrypted information held on computer discs."

John Morrison of Upper Richmond Road, pleaded guilty to possession of indecent photographs of a child, contrary to Sec 160 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988

John Parratt, of Upper Richmond Road, was found guilty of possession of indecent photographs of a child, contrary to Sec 160 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988

May 15, 2011