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Convicted Paedophile May Avoid Prison Because It Has No Wi Fi For His Pacemaker

A man who hoarded “depraved” child sex abuse photos may escape being jailed as the prison does not have the Wi-Fi he needs for his pacemaker.

Paedophile Phillip Dutfield, 61, has already been jailed twice before for his sick obsession with the images but a heart condition may stop him going inside for a third term.

The former Army captain’s collection of pictures included photos of the worst kind of abuse and extreme pornography of bestiality.

Dutfield was due to be sentenced on Monday for breaching orders relating to his past offences - but a judge was told he had a defibrillator for his condition which relied on Wi-Fi to function properly and which might not be available in prison.

Tom Dunn, defending, explained the pacemaker was “picked up” by an NHS server which manages it.

He told Maidstone Crown Court: “It is not known whether it is capable of functioning in a custodial setting.

"One can imagine all sorts of impediments to it functioning in a custodial setting.

“No doubt there are safeguards in place to prevent that happening for many reasons.”

He added: “He may be put at risk in a custodial setting.”

Dutfield, of Gillingham, Kent, was jailed in 2006 and 2010 for similar offences and he was hauled back to court after breaching the terms of a sexual offences prevention order by owning a laptop computer capable of accessing the internet, a digital camera, memory stick and two mobile phones.

The latest breach involves him accessing the internet at the University of Kent where he had enrolled between September 2012 and November 2013.

He also had unsupervised contact with a young girl in July last year.

The court heard that the sex fiend took drugs every day for his heart condition.

Judge Jeremy Carey agreed to adjourn sentence until August so that the situation with Wi-Fi in prison could be investigated.

He said: "It is a unique case in my experience. It may well become commonplace.”