That a convicted paedophile is able to avoid a jail sentence is an utter disgrace especially given pensioners get locked up for non-payment of TV licence fees; Old Etonian Andrew Picard shouldn’t be on the streets, he should be in the clink
Andrew Picard (AKA Andrew Laurence and Andrew Boeckman) was caught with 1,185 indecent images of children as young as eight on his computer. He admitted to possessing videos of a three year old being raped, children being forced to have sex with dogs and sharing indecent images on Skype with an undercover policeman yet he was spared jail and handed a derisory non-custodial sentence late last month.
Eton College, Berkshire and Williams College, Massachusetts educated former USA swimmer Picard – who changed his name from Andrew Boeckman to protect the supposed “good reputation” of his wealthy family during his trial – received a sentence of just 10 months imprisonment suspended for 18 months for ten counts of possessing child pornography in late February and thus, one must ask: “Why wasn’t he locked up?”
Justifying why he spared Picard of Probyn House, Page Street, Westminster jail and why he also decided not to place this privileged pervert and predator on the sex offenders’ register, Judge Peter Ross remarked:
“It has been said that you and your family have suffered deeply as a result of your arrest and public exposure. Your family didn’t deserve that… [Prison] would undo the counseling you have undergone”.
Sallie Bennett-Jenkins QC, defending, added:
“This is a young and very able man who has hopes for the future… He was able to have this opportunity [to seek help] and this was something Andrew sought for himself, by himself”.
In a country where our government actively pursues jail sentences for pensioners refusing to pay their TV licence fees, it is a disgrace that the son of a prominent American lawyer named Philip J. Boeckman manages to avoid prison in spite of the seriousness of his offences. This utterly contemptible decision is something that brings only shame on Britain.