Seven Britons have been sentenced for their participation in the world's largest Internet child pornography ring -dubbed the "Wonderland Club"- amid criticism of the court's leniency.
All were jailed for between 18 and 30 months. None received the maximum sentence of three years.
Judge Kenneth Macrae spoke of the "perversity" of trading child pornography on the Internet. "Children represent the future and should be cared for and protected. You have betrayed that principle.
The use and abuse of children for your own gratification has horrified me. You have used your computer skills to do this. Directly or indirectly, you have exploited the most vulnerable. The photographic records are proof of your perversity."
David Hines, who was described by the judge as having "the classic distorted thinking and action of a paedophile", was sentenced to 30 months imprisonment. Ian Baldock also received 30 months. Gavin Seagers was jailed for two years. Ahmet Ali and Andrew Barlow each received two years.
Antoni Skinner was told that he "merited two years" by Macrae but was sentenced to 18 months.
The final defendant, Frederick Stephens, had only been involved in Wonderland for six months. Sentencing him to 12 months, Judge Macrae told him "You're a bit of an oddity".
"The reality of the Wonderland Club is that it was a vast lending library for like-minded people," said Skinner's defense lawyer. Three-quarters of a million indecent images of children were discovered on the defendants' home computers, depicting 1,263 children engaged in sexual acts with other children or adults.
Judge Macrae told the men that despite "pandering to the basest interests of man" they would have to be given credit for pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute indecent images of children.
However, the controversial Wonderland trial had been viewed by many as a test case for dealing with paedophile activity on the Internet. Experts have been calling for the maximum three-year sentence to be given to all defendants.
