Man ran computer porn line, court told

A COMPUTER pornographer who transmitted obscene material over premium rate telephone lines was sentenced to five months in jail yesterday, in the first prosecution of its kind, writes Ian MacKinnon.

But Colin Jack, 41, who ran the computer business from his home, was freed on bail by magistrates at Swaffham, Norfolk, pending an appeal against the conviction. The material, including scenes of group sex and mutilation, was stored on a CD ROM system which uses disks identical to those that play music, but are capable of holding between 3,000 and 4,000 moving and still images.

Computer enthusiasts saw it advertised on a bulletin board and were able to gain access to Jack's computer in the village of Stacksford, using a British Telecom 0891 telephone number, earning him 23.76p per minute and the company 36p or 48p per minute, depending on the time of day.

Police investigated after a computer programmer from Scotland saw the material advertised and wrote to officers to complain about the pornography which Jack had bought in the United States. About 40 people had used the service, the court was told.

Jack admitted nine charges of possessing obscene material for publication. His solicitor, Brian Jarvis, told the court: 'The only people who have gained out of this are BT, who supplied the phone lines.'

Magistrates ordered the destruction of the compact disks and forfeiture of pounds 2,500 worth of computer equipment.