Description
A furious judge threatened to personally escort a paedophile to the cells after custody officers claimed they could not handle disabled prisoners.
At Bournemouth Crown Court, Judge Robert Pawson sentenced Geoffrey Cheffings, a former prison officer from Christchurch, to five-and-a-half years in prison. However, he was outraged when officers refused to use a nearby public lift to transport the 76-year-old cancer sufferer, who relied on a walker.
“I will escort him down to the cells myself if I have to,” the judge declared.
He questioned prison custody officer supervisor Jordan Fairbrother, who explained the dock only had steps to the cells: “As far as I am aware we can’t take anyone with a disability, or is struggling to walk.”
Fairbrother noted that disabled offenders are typically handled at Salisbury Crown Court, which has a secure lift.
Unimpressed, Judge Pawson—highlighting prior delays in the case—responded: “I can’t move the case to Salisbury now. I will bring him to the doors of the cells downstairs.”
When Fairbrother said that wasn't possible, the judge suggested using a bus: “I will take him round the back of the court to where they get on, and take him to the doors of the bus.”
Informed no bus was available, Pawson ordered Fairbrother to call his superiors: “I don’t want you to get in trouble but you can tell them that this is what is going to happen, I will bring him to the doors of the cells or to a bus.”
Shortly after, four guards used the public lift to take Cheffings to the cells.
Cheffings, an army veteran who served 12 years in the tank regiment and rose to troop sergeant, appeared in court wearing an 'Army Veteran' jumper with a Union Jack. His last job was as a taxi driver.
Prosecutor Stuart Ellacott detailed how Cheffings paid a mother in Africa to perform a sex act on her two-year-old son, which she live-streamed to him. He also sent money to individuals in the Philippines and Pakistan for similar abuses of children.
Cheffings was arrested in August 2023 after a couple he met on a dogging website grew suspicious of his interest in children. They created a fake profile claiming two daughters aged nine and 14, leading Cheffings to discuss raping them in a Travelodge.
Already under National Crime Agency investigation for downloading indecent images via his Google account, Cheffings' phones revealed obscene child photos and images of animal abuse, including category A material.
He pleaded guilty to two counts of facilitating the sexual assault of a child under 13, four counts of possessing indecent images of children, and one count of possessing grossly offensive animal images.
Representing himself, Cheffings attributed his actions to “boredom” after retirement: “I don’t really know – boredom, sat at home after retiring. I think basically it was boredom.”
He acknowledged the harm to children: “Yes I do.”
Noting Cheffings' previously “unblemished character” but delayed case due to cancer treatment, Judge Pawson sentenced him to 64 months, stating the case exposed the “downside of the internet and real-life consequences of immediate contact around the world and the ability to transfer money.”
Cheffings must register as a sex offender for life, abide by a sexual harm prevention order, and serve two-thirds of his sentence before release on licence.