Monday March 19, 2007
Fugitive admits defeat after failing to outrun police
A fugitive who spent more than two years on the run ultimately failed to avoid prosecution thanks to the determined efforts of the Child Exploitation and Online Protection (CEOP) Centre and Durham Constabulary.
30 year old Neil Barry Pomeroy, from Darlington, was originally arrested by Durham Constabulary in 2004 on suspicion of the possession of indecent images of children. Approximately 180,000 images were recovered by police, including photographs, drawings and videos. Recognising the seriousness of his offending and in an attempt to escape justice, Pomeroy went missing whilst on police bail travelling to South Korea, Taiwan and Palau, countries where extradition treaties do not exist.
However, officers persistently tracked Pomeroy, who had managed to secure teaching positions in schools in South Korea and Taiwan. They notified law enforcement agencies in each country of his movements and worked to restrict his opportunities for employment and also his access to financial support from the UK. Eventually, Pomeroy grew tired of having to move around and agreed to return to the UK where he was on arrested on arrival.
Pomeroy has since been sentenced to two years in prison by Teeside Crown Court after pleading guilty to 16 charges of making and possessing indecent images of children. He has been issued with a Sexual Offences Prevention Order which will ban him from working with children for the rest of his life and keep him on the Sex Offenders Register for 10 years.
Julian Norris is the Offender Management Group Leader at the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre. He said: "Offenders who believe they can evade punishment by travelling abroad underestimate our determination to bring them to justice. Alongside our partners, we will take every step within our power to track them down.
The positive outcome of this case is a credit to the extensive efforts made by the Centre and Durham Constabulary to ensure that Pomeroy was brought to account. We are delighted that he is at last behind bars.
Detective Constable Ian Whittaker from Durham Constabulary said:
The contribution of CEOP in this case was outstanding and key to Pomeroy's arrest. There is no doubt that without the Centre's very considerable help and assistance this man would not have returned to the United Kingdom where we were able to re-arrest him and, ultimately, put him before the court.
ENDS
For further information please contact Sarah Shakespeare at the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre on 0207 238 2312.