A man has been jailed for having what a judge described as some of the most disgusting pornography he had ever seen.

A police and trading standards raid on William Samler's Clacton sex shop netted more than 600 videos, and a court heard how many of them had not been classified or did not display an over-18 only symbol.

Judge Chris Ball QC jailed Samler for nine months and fined him £2,600 after he admitted publishing obscene tapes and selling them.

Judge Ball told Samler: "I have been working in the criminal law for 30 years and in that time I have covered cases involving material coming out of Soho and film clubs, but I have rarely seen anything as disgusting as this."

Chelmsford Crown Court heard how police and trading standards officers raided Samler's sex shop in Orwell Road, Clacton, on July 27 last year and found a number of obscene tapes in a cupboard.

Many of the tapes were unclassified and did not carry the regulation R18 symbol, Simon Spence, prosecuting, told the court.

Samler, of Crescent Road, Heybridge, told police after he was arrested that he had accepted the tapes in part exchange.

He admitted three charges of publishing an obscene article, four of publishing an obscene article for gain, six of having films with no classification and two of having films which did not display the R18 classification symbol between May 13 and July 23 last year.

Katherine Bradshaw, mitigating, said the videos did not involve child pornography. Samler was now planning to sell the shop and was working as a kitchen fitter, she said.

Published Monday, June 9, 2003

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