Daughter ban lifted for dad who downloaded child porn by mistake

A MAN barred from being alone with his daughter after accidentally downloading child porn is celebrating after the ban was lifted.

Nigel Robinson, 43, had been trying to download an album when he opened files that turned out to be indecent images of children.

He told his wife immediately and then contacted Humberside Police to report the discovery on his laptop.

However, social services then told him he would only be allowed supervised access to his 8-year-old daughter Isabel until the laptop had been examined – something that would take up to a year.

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But within days of telling his story in the Mail, he was told the laptop had been examined and the ban had been lifted.

"I took her to the park on Saturday morning then went for a walk to shops just because we could," said Mr Robinson, who lives in Keyingham.

"It was a bit odd because I was told on Friday morning that it would be another couple of months before there would be a result. I was looking to the end of May before I could get an answer.

"But then I got a phone call in the evening from the head of child protection saying the laptop had been examined and there was no incriminating evidence.

"My heart skipped a beat, the relief was unreal, I felt absolutely brilliant. It is such excellent news."

Mr Robinson had been downloading the music at the beginning of November, attempting to listen to an album by former Guns N Roses guitarist Slash.

However, he says he ended up with a series of files labelled with girls names and quickly realised that he had indecent images of children.

After the Mail carried the story and it was followed up by the national media, Mr Robinson appeared on BBC Radio 2's Jeremy Vine show and was asked to go on ITV's This Morning to discuss his plight.

The police investigation led to the laptop being seized and sent off to be examined, with a force spokeswoman telling the Mail the examination process could not be expedited.

Mr Robinson said: "The ban was having a terrible impact on our family life, my wife and I were arguing more, I'd starting smoking heavily again and drinking a lot.

"I know it's no excuse, but the stress is difficult to deal with. A year is such a long time to not be able to be alone with your daughter.

"I have tried to be as open and honest as I possibly could be. I always took that approach and it has paid off in the end but there were still some people out there who thought there was something else going on."

A spokeswoman for East Riding Council confirmed Mr Robinson has been released from the conditions.

She said: "We take all allegations of a child protection nature passed to us by the police very seriously.

"East Riding Council has a duty of care to protect children and young people and this duty will always take precedent in these types of situations."

Humberside Police told the Mail it had "no control" over the amount of time it takes for the laptop to be examined.

However, a police spokeswoman said yesterday: "The examination of the laptop is complete and Mr Robinson will have it returned to him sometime this week, as it needs to be cleansed of the images."

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