Detectives will speak to Joanna Yeates'’s killer Vincent Tabak in porn case
DETECTIVES will question murderer Vincent Tabak about the child porn found on his laptop computer, the Evening Post can reveal.
The Dutchman is currently serving a life sentence for strangling landscape architect Joanna Yeates at her Clifton flat.
But as the Evening Post exclusively revealed after Tabak's trial in October, Avon and Somerset police found vile images on his laptop of children being sexually abused.
In all there were 30 indecent images, all of level four out of five in terms of extremity.
More than four months on, the police have not yet asked the Crown Prosecution Service whether Tabak should be charged with a further offence.
And as he is already serving a minimum of 20 years in prison, it is highly unlikely that a judge would extend that sentence following any conviction for possessing indecent images.
However, the Post can reveal detectives are still planning to confront Tabak about the sick images they found, before making a final decision on whether to pursue a prosecution.
Yesterday, Avon and Somerset police's head of Corporate Communications, Amanda Hirst, confirmed the investigation team is "planning to interview Tabak further", but would not say when or where that would take place.
A CPS spokesman said the decision on whether the allegation would progress is currently with the police and until they come to CPS with any evidence, asking for a charging decision, the ball remains in the force's court.
The police are not obliged to act on the material found and do not have a time limit on whether or not to pursue a prosecution, he added.
The maximum sentence for possessing indecent images of category four, after trial, is two years in prison.
If the police were to pursue a prosecution, the CPS would only take up the case if it was deemed to be in the public interest.
A jury found engineer Tabak guilty of murder by a ten to two majority. He had admitted killing his neighbour Miss Yeates, pictured, on December 17, 2010, but always denied murder.
Tabak strangled the 25-year-old while her boyfriend Greg Reardon was away for the weekend.
He then went shopping at Asda, Bedminster, with her dead body in the boot of his girlfriend's Renault Megane, before dumping her at the side of remote Longwood Lane in Failand.
Her snow and leaf- covered frozen body was found by dog walkers on Christmas Day, 2010.
During the trial, the prosecution alluded to "other matters" surrounding Tabak, un-related to the murder charge.
It turned out those "other matters" were the indecent images, revealed in the Post, depicting penetrative sexual activity involving a child or children.
After the trial at Bristol Crown Court, it also emerged Tabak had a secret fetish for strangulation porn and enjoyed films showing women being bound and gagged.
8 Comments
by DazzyBoy
Monday, February 13 2012, 2:44PM
“If life imprisonment mean't life imprisonment, it would be a lot clearer! it also might put off a few of these evil bar stewards committing the crime in the first place!!”
by Morrissey9
Monday, February 13 2012, 1:29PM
“The tabloids will always take a sentence passed, remove any time spent on remand, then do some vague maths (chop it roughly in half) and suggest they will definitely be released then. He won't be released in 20 years, probably not even 30 or 40.”
by dungbob
Monday, February 13 2012, 1:21PM
“If he isn't tried for the images, then if/when he's released he will merely be under the restrictions as a 'lifer' - he will not be limited on internet access, he will not be banned from contact with children, he will not have to comply with the conditions of the sex offenders register. Personally I feel the future protection of children on it's own is enough to warrant this going to court, never mind trying to protect and help those who have already been indirectly abused by this man.
If ever released he should be classed as both a child sex-offender and a lifer; Joanna can't return, and the children in the images have already had their childhood removed, and he should carry that for the rest of his life.”
by Bristoldjsuk
Monday, February 13 2012, 1:05PM
“@spy
Another misconception of the law there. He has been set a minimum tariff of 20 years which is now mandatory practice (Thanks to European Human Rights laws). He will then be able to apply to be considered for parole. Predatory offenders and the such like, will rarely get released if at all as they will always be considered a risk to the community. As much as tabloids love playing up to the minimum tariffs as the "whole sentence" and they are released, in reality it is rarely true.”
by spyinthecamp
Monday, February 13 2012, 12:19PM
“What concerns me more is he will be out in 20 years makiing him in his eary 50's and the chance to rebuild his life. Life should mean life for acts such as this. The victim does not get another chance.”
by Bristoldjsuk
Monday, February 13 2012, 8:59AM
“@leonora...
One assumes that these images could be from anywhere in the world so identifying them would be impossible. The police aren't completely stupid, and as said, the murder charge carries a much weightier sentence. The man is very unlikely to be ever released, so whilst investigating the images, charging him would definitely not be in the public's interest.”
by Leonora_F
Sunday, February 12 2012, 9:29AM
“It is over a year since the police analyzed Vincent Tabak's computers. Why did they not charge him with possession of child porn images at the same time as the murder of Joanna Yeates? Why did they not take steps to identify the children in the images so as to protect them from further abuse? Why did they not charge other adults who surely were involved?”
by Morrissey9
Saturday, February 11 2012, 7:08PM
“It wouldn't add to his sentence and would cost a lot of money to go through the rigmarole of it, so I doubt they should bother. They could question him to find out where he got it from, but that is the lot really.”