Child porn habit caused by Parkinson's disease

A former headmaster who had thousands of indecent images of children on his computer walked free from court after a judge ruled the drug he had taken to treat his Parkinson's disease was responsible for his crime.

Philip Carmichael said the drugs he was taking caused him to become hyper-sexually active.

The 58-year-old from Wantage, who had 8,000 images and videos on his computer, including one of a nine-year-old girl before he started taking the drugs, was given an absolute discharge despite pleading guilty to the offences.



Judge Mary-Jane Mowat said his case was "wholly exceptional" because it was clear the pills he was taking had caused his hypersexuality.

She went on to reject a prosecution appeal that Carmichael should at least be put under supervision before leaving court.

Roger Harrison, defending, said his client had been prescribed Dopamine Agonist to relieve symptoms of Parkinson's Disease and Graves' Disease. He said "hypersexuality", compulsive gambling and compulsive shopping had also been recognised as side-effects of the drugs Cabergoline and Ropinirole - which are both Dopamine Agonists. Carmichael took both.