Ex-choirmaster from Hereford admits having indecent images

8:00am Monday 6th October 2008

Comments (0)   Have your say »

THE former choirmaster at a Hereford church has admitted two counts of possessing indecent photographs of children.

Robert Milan, aged 62, of Rudge Close, Marden, a former choirmaster and organist at St Nicholas Church, on Barton Road, had 31 pictures of children hidden in a wardrobe.

Five of the pictures involved images of sexual activity between adults and children, while the other 26 were in the lowest bracket of seriousness.

Prosecuting, Alex Warren said police had received a complaint last October after Milan had been seen taking a picture of a schoolgirl standing at a bus stop.

They approached Milan, traced through his car registration number, and found a camera in his car containing photographs of girls, although these were not indecent.

Milan later admitted to police he had two folders of pictures in a wardrobe at home containing indecent pictures downloaded from the internet plus newspaper cuttings.

He said the indecent pictures came from a man who visited his workshop.

Andrew Davidson, for Milan, said he had since resigned from his position at St Nicholas Church, and has been “honest and forthright” throughout the investigation, adding the offences were at the “lower end of seriousness”.

Judge Richard Rundell said Milan’s admissions, previous good character, early guilty plea and images that were not of the most serious category, saved him from prison.

He said Milan “clearly needs some help” and gave him a three-year community order with a condition that he takes part in a sex offenders’ programme.

Milan was also made the subject of a 10-year sexual offences prevention order, made to sign the sex offenders’ register for five years and disqualified from working with children indefinitely.