A judge compared Ben Charmin to guitarist Pete Townshend, pictured above

by Keith Hunt

A teenager who downloaded indecent images of boys has walked free with just a conditional discharge after a judge compared him to rock star Pete Townshend.

The legendary Who guitarist had in 2003 been cautioned by police after admitting he used a credit card to access a website advertising child abuse images.

Townshend, now 67, claimed he looked at the site for research purposes and did not download any images. He was not found in possession of any.

In the case at Maidstone Crown Court, Ben Charmin, of Woodward Terrace, Greenhithe, admitted seven charges of possessing indecent photos of a child when he was 16 - claiming he did so because he was confused about his sexuality.

Judge Michael Carroll asked David Martin, defending: "What can I do with him? It is not my intention to be draconian or threatening.”

Mr Martin said it was regrettable the 18-year-old twin, who suffers from Asperger’s syndrome, came to court as an adult as there would have been a referral order if dealt with when he was two years younger in the youth court.

Judge Carroll asked: "Don’t I remember a case where a well-known popular musician was found in possession of indecent images and was given a caution?

"he doesn’t interact with others. he doesn’t leave home. he has not left for two years…” – david martin, defending

"He could be accused of many things, being 16 at the time was not one of them. Not everyone who finds themselves in the position of your client ends up in the dock.

"It doesn’t necessarily mean punishment today is the order of the day. By the time I pass sentence everyone will realise that a conditional discharge when you are 18 does mean something.

"When you are 18 the years pass more slowly."

Mr Martin said Charmin’s motivation for downloading the images was to make himself repellent and repugnant to others.

"He doesn’t interact with others," he said. "He doesn’t leave home. He has not left for two years. He is not now forced to go to school. This has alleviated the anxiety from him.

"I asked him is there any chance he will do this sort of thing again. He is a man of few words and he said no, he understands this is wrong and he will never do it again."

The judge said there was only one image at the highest level of five. The others were at levels two and three.

The case had taken an "inordinate amount of time" to reach court since Charmin was arrested in December 2010.

Ben Charmin was sentenced at Maidstone Crown Court

"You were 16 at the time, some way off adulthood," he told the teenager. “The court must mark these offences because you are now an adult and in law responsible for your actions.

"I don’t believe this conduct passes the custody threshold. In normal circumstances, I would have considered passing a longer than normal community order involving supervision.

"However, it is not my practice, or any judges practice, to set a person up to fail by passing a sentence which would almost certainly be breached in one way or another and only postpone the inevitable re-sentencing.

"I am, therefore, going to take an exceptional course by imposing a conditional discharge. It is not what might be described as an easy option."

Judge Carroll said if Charmin committed any other offences in the next three years, he would be re-sentenced.

"The judge on that occasion will say this judge got it wrong and rectify my mistake," he said. "It won’t be me who has to pay the penalty. You will have to go into custody. You will have three years to avoid that."

Charmin will be on the sex offenders’ register for three years.