A popular local award-winning wedding photographer confessed he had a fascination with underage girls when police raided his Mitcham home and seized twenty-six indecent videos and images.
Jeff Sham, 33, of New Road, who works all over London and the south-east had laptop downloads, which included adults having sex with girls under sixteen years-old, bondage and a child engaged in sexual activity with a dog.
He pleaded guilty to seven counts of making an indecent photograph of a child and possessing an indecent image of a child on or before May 22.
Sham is Surrey's only member of the professional Guild of Wedding Photographers.
Prosecutor Miss Shekinah Anson told Croydon Crown Court (pictured) twenty-two of the images were at level four; two at level three and and two at level five, the most extreme.
Officers executed a search warrant on May 22, seizing various items of computer equipment and media storage.
“He admitted entering chatrooms and said he had an interest in father daughter sex and engaged in role play,” explained Miss Anson today.
“He said while online in the chatrooms he was invited to visit and view other files and admitted downloading and saving some of them.”
The first-time offender was sentenced to six months' imprisonment, suspended for eighteen months, placed on a twelve-month probation order and was ordered to complete a sixty-day internet sex offender programme.
“It is a small number of images and there is no point sending him down for four weeks,” announced the Recorder of Croydon Warwick McKinnon. “He has got to sort himself out.”
The judge ordered police to return Sham's laptop, minus the indecent images.
“Even though he has this unfortunate trait it would be disproportionate for me to take away his life's work.”
Sham will have to sign the Sex Offenders Register for a period of seven years and was made subject to a Sexual Offenders Prevention Order restricting his physical and online contect with children.
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