Gerrard Charnley, who described himself as a “proud” paedophile and kept notes on wanting to rape children, has been sentenced to 14 months in prison in the UK. The 52-year-old, who maintained a so-called “My Paedophile Diary” with the names of children he wanted to rape alongside the dates he wanted to carry out the attacks, has been handed a 10-year sexual harm prevention order.

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A twisted journal

Charnley, as per a Daily Mail report, declared in his twisted paedophile journal that he was “proud to be a paedophile” and wrote in detail about his depraved desires.

In one horrific entry from June 2019, the paedophile named a girl and wrote that he wanted “to rape” her “someday very soon,” adding “I'm proud to say this as a paedophile.”

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The disturbing journal was unearthed by authorities in February last year during a raid on Charnley's house on Coronation Drive, Widnes.

They also found hundreds of thousands of illegal pornographic photos and videos of children, so many that the police were unable to put an exact number on them. These included pictures of babies being raped.

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His internet history also revealed that he had accessed Reddit pages on topics like schoolgirl skirts and more.

The paedophile also had bookmarks for sites labelled 'paedo links', 'naughty kids' and 'little girls'.

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Only a “fantasy”?

Charnley had also downloaded 'paedophile manuals' titled “The Paedophile's Handbook” and “How to Practice Child Love” which “contained advice and guidance about abusing children”. 

The paedophile claimed that he remembered downloading the manual but thought he deleted it without reading it.

While he accepted that his sexual attraction to children had “progressed through the years,” he said it was just a “fantasy in his head” that he “would never act out on”.

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His lawyers contended that 52-year-old Charnley had contacted 'Stop It Now,' an “anonymous and confidential service available to anyone with concerns about child sexual abuse, including those worried about their own or someone else's behaviour.”  

However, the Honorary Recorder of Liverpool Judge Andrew Menary KC, while sentencing the paedophile, said that the written material found in Charney's possession “demonstrates clearly that yours was not an idle obsession, but one where you were fixated on the abuse of children.”

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“I am satisfied that only an immediate term of imprisonment is appropriate to deal with offending of the scale and type described in this case, where you have quite deliberately, over many years, sought out and collected a huge quantity of appalling material.” 

“Alongside that, you have generated your own material, demonstrating that you have a clear desire to participate in the abuse of these children,” added the judge.

(With inputs from agencies)