Martin Frederic Daly, aged 47, appeared before the Superior Number of the Royal Court in Jersey for sentencing on charges related to serious sexual offences. The Superior Number, a panel convened only for the most grave cases, heard how Daly had breached restraining orders previously imposed following his sexual assault of a nine-year-old girl. He faced four counts of breaching these orders and four counts of downloading indecent images of children.
The restraining orders, issued by the Royal Court, required Daly to surrender to police any computer or device capable of accessing the internet or storing electronic images for examination. He was also prohibited from using devices that could not retain internet browsing history. Between January and September 2018, police visited Daly's home on four occasions, and each time he failed to produce certain devices, presenting only his mobile phones. On the final visit, officers observed him using a laptop, which he initially denied possessing beyond his phone. When eventually surrendered, the laptop contained adult pornography and a sexualised story involving pre-teen female children.
Forensic examination by the High-Tech Crime Unit revealed connections to 13 additional devices in Daly's possession, including seven storage devices or memory cards, which he had not disclosed. Daly claimed some oversights were inadvertent or due to heavy drinking, while others stemmed from panic or misunderstanding the order's scope. He admitted that some storage devices might contain illegal material or child pornography. In total, 22,042 indecent images and movies were recovered, described by Crown Advocate Richard Pedley as a 'high volume', with any three-figure count considered large. Most images were at the lowest level of the Copine Scale, a system for categorising child sex abuse material severity, but 1,032 were at the most serious level. The material had been collected over 11 months, averaging 50 downloads per day.
- Daly was described in reports as a 'clever man, capable of deception' and at high risk of further sexual offences.
- The Crown sought a total sentence of six-and-a-half years: two years for the breaches and four-and-a-half years for the downloads, plus destruction of the devices.
Daly's defence, led by Advocate Lee Ingram, noted that Daly had initially queried the image count for duplicates but accepted a guilty plea discount. Ingram explained Daly's 'downward spiral' after his marriage breakdown, exacerbated by increased alcohol use as a coping mechanism. Daly expressed acceptance of his punishment, regret for his actions, and a willingness to address his issues during his sentence. He apologised for not surrendering devices promptly and for the anguish caused to his family.
Royal Court Commissioner Julian Clyde-Smith, sitting with Jurats Kim Avery, Elizabeth Dulake, Collette Crill, Anthony Olsen, and Jerry Ramsden, endorsed the Crown's recommendations. Daly was sentenced to six-and-a-half years' imprisonment, with new restraining orders for 10 years and placement on the Sex Offenders’ Register until at least 2027. The case was reported by Bailiwick Express on 10 April 2019, highlighting the severity of child exploitation offences in Jersey.