Judge Alistair McCreath, the Recorder of Westminster, told Southwark Crown Court that Rock has caused himself “massive reputational harm” after a jury of six women and six men found him guilty on his 65th birthday.
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Police in the U.S. did not prosecute Rock because they had decided there was no “child pornography”, Ms Wass added.
While none of the girls were naked, prosecutors claimed they were in “sexualised” poses in skimpy clothing, including swimwear and bras.
“Mr Rock self-reported to those he worked for, mainly the Prime Minister’s private secretary, before he was even arrested for this matter”, she said. “And it is one which is utterly merited”.
The charges related to images downloaded when Rock was working in the US.
A source close to the case said: ‘The FBI in the United States were given the iPad by a local copper when some builders were doing renovation work on Mr Rock’s deceased mother’s house in Carolina.
“The child is photographed in a pose that is deliberately sexual in tone, because they are scantily clad and/or their legs are often apart and/or they are showing their bottoms to the camera”.
“Whilst it is true that the photographs were taken by others, you and others like you who accessed and looked at these images were complicit in that exploitation”.
She added that Rock, of Fulham, south-west London, had been in America after his mother had died in order to handle her affairs.
Rock had sought treatment at a charity called the Lucy Faithfull Foundation, she added.
The judge accepted Rock had been in a “state of unusual emotional turmoil” at the time he downloaded the five photos between August 11 and 14 2013.
Opening the case for the prosecution, Thomas Forster said it would be up to the jury to decide whether the images were indecent, according to the “propriety of the standards of right minded members of society”.
The jury was unable to reach a verdict on the remaining 12 charges. “I hope that you will note carefully that the word “only” has not featured in that last sentence”.
During that time he must register as a sex offender and is banned from using internet-compatible devices unless they can retain his browsing history, which he must surrender for inspection by police. Rock was also ordered to contribute £12,500 – about half – towards the prosecution’s costs.
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Downing Street’s sordid adviser Patrick Rock committed what many will consider is an obscene crime, whether the culprit is a dustman or a figure with a security pass to the heart of Government.
