A man described by a judge as lonely and vulnerable googled terms such as “rugrat porn” and downloaded more than 700 indecent images of children, a court has heard. Christopher Hiatt, 33, of Riverside in Cardiff, had been signed off work because he is autistic and lived a sheltered life mostly spent on his computer in his room, Judge Lucy Crowther said when sentencing Hiatt.
Sol Hartley, prosecuting, told the court Hiatt admitted to South Wales Police officers who knocked on his door in March 2023 that he had been accessing indecent images of children since 2013. Despite sophisticated software designed to hide his offending the force was alerted to Hiatt and officers arrested him at his property at Albert Street where they seized multiple laptops and other devices.
Mr Hartley explained on the laptops were internet searches such as “rugrat porn” and “girls wearing pyjamas”. Sexual images of children on Hiatt’s devices included some with children as young as two but most of the 777 images were of children between the ages of 10 and 13. In total 24 category A images – the worst kind – were discovered as well as 65 category B images, 651 category C images, and another 37 prohibited images.
Hiatt pleaded guilty to four offences of possession of indecent photographs of children. Martha Smith-Higgins, for Hiatt, said her client had shown a level of insight into his offending and said he was clearly a vulnerable man. She said the fact Hiatt had previously had a social worker put into context his offending to a degree. She explained he had been signed off work due to poor health and an autism diagnosis and that he had, since his offending, made contact with a counselling service and an organisation designed to work with sex offenders to help them rehabilitate.
Hiatt, a man of previously clean character save for a caution for theft a long time ago, had allowed his interest in pornography to get out of control. Ms Smith-Higgins said that interest moved onto an interest in children which he had “battled with”. She said her client had been “deleting the material hoping not to look again but found himself doing just that”.
Judge Crowther, addressing Hiatt in the dock, told the defendant that his life was “aimless”. “You have no direction,” she said. “You don’t have contact with family, you live by yourself, you are signed off work because of autism. It seems to me you’re a very lonely person who spends your entire life looking through a computer screen. That’s not real life Mr Hiatt.”
Hiatt, supported by his local church pastor in court who had “given him some hope and ambition life”, was sentenced to six months in prison which was suspended for two years. During that period he was told he must complete a 35-day accredited programme course and a 25-day rehabilitation course. He must also pay a statutory surcharge of £187 within four months and will be listed as a convicted child sex offender. For the latest court reports, sign up to our crime newsletter here.
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