The worst excuses from south east London paedophiles

From possessing thousands of indecent images to arranging to meet children for sex, offenders like these put children in harm’s way each and every day. 

At these court hearings you can hear some awful excuses, from paedophiles who claim the vile photos on their phones are ‘medical’ to men who say they were just feeling ‘lonely’. 

These convicted criminals are paying the price for their actions, but here’s how they tried to talk their way into a lesser sentence. 

Bromley man who claimed child sex images were ‘medical’ 

Neil Chapman, a 34-year-old from Reigate Road in Bromley, was caught in possession of more than 100 vile images when his home was raided by police in August 2021. 

Police intelligence suggested he had uploaded a horrific image to an online forum. 

His computer was seized and when questioned about the upload he told police: "It rings a bell but may have been a medical image." 

He had previously been caught in possession of child images in 2016 and was given a suspended sentence, then was given another suspended sentence for these 2021 offences. 

The court heard he had been struggling with his mental health following the death of two family members. 

He was given a a 16-month sentence, suspended for two years meaning he walked free from court again and will not see a prison cell unless he offends again during that period. 

Woolwich predator who said he messaged children online to stop ‘real life offending’ 

James Golding is a repeat offender (Image: Metropolitan Police)

James Golding, a 26-year-old from Swingate Lane in Woolwich, said he messaged children online in order to stop himself abusing children in person. 

Golding was previously convicted of molesting an eight-year-old boy in a McDonald’s toilet, but within days of being released from prison he was messaging children online. 

He pretended to be a 15-year-old boy while speaking to a 13-year-old and incited the young boy to send sexual photos. 

Golding also told a 15-year-old that he sexually abuses his own six-year-old brother, although he doesn’t actually have one.  

Golding and the 15-year-old discussed child porn and how to find it, and this conversation resulted in the 15-year-old being arrested by police. 

His excuse was that he knows he has a sexual attraction to children so he used the internet as an outlet for this. 

When they analysed the 15-year-old's phone they found Golding’s messages and began to target him with decoy accounts (officers pretending to be children to catch predators).   

His barrister, Mr Mitchell, said: “His explanation was that he thought he thought he could limit his offending by going online.” 

Golding was jailed for five years and four months. 

Orpington paedophile who says they have to lie about why they’re in prison 

Sean Brady represented himself in court (Image: Metropolitan Police)

Sean Brady, a 54-year-old of Marlborough Close in Orpington, was caught with indecent images of children. 

In a long speech attempting to save himself from being sent to prison, the 54-year-old explained the impact that previous prison sentences had on his mental health.  

He told the court he needed therapy after leaving HMP Belmarsh, where he spent his conviction lying to other prisoners about why he was there to avoid being targeted.  

Brady told the court he had been bullied at school and his dad had been physically abusive to him, which explains the way he has turned out.  

He broke in tears as he said: “I did not interact with any of those girls in the videos, nor would I want to, neither now or in the future.”  

Through tears Brady added: “I resigned from my job and will probably lose my flat, depending on sentencing.” 

Brady, who previously worked for TfL before becoming a gardener, has a long history of offending and has admitted that he has a sexual attraction to young children.  

In June 2007 he was given a community order for possessing indecent images of children.  

In April 2008 he was imprisoned for eight months for possessing indecent images of children.  

In December 2016 he was given a 16-month suspended sentence for possessing indecent images of children and taking upskirt photos of women in public. 

He was jailed for two years and six months.