By Vir B. Lumicao
A Filipino sales executive who pleaded guilty to child
pornography was sentenced to 12 months in jail by a District Court judge earlier
today, May 7.
Lordjel Gelizon, 33, single, was found to have downloaded 32
photos and 138 video clips from child pornography websites as early as August
2013, and stored them in his notebook PC.
He was arrested during a police raid on a flat he shared
with his family in Tsimshatsui at early on Apr 19, 2016, during an anti-child
pornography operation. He was charged in January last year and the case was
first heard in September.
His lawyer argued vigorously for a significant discount to
the 18 months used as a starting point in sentencing, citing the two-year delay
in prosecuting the case.
“We were sitting here two years after the event waiting when
he’ll go to prison,” the lawyer said. He said his client’s life was on hold and
under the strain of waiting because of the delay in taking the case to court.
But Judge Isaac Tam stressed repeatedly that “delay will not
be a mitigating factor”. He said the prosecution was delayed because it needed
more time to find out the ages of the children in the sex videos and photos, as
well as to seek further legal advice.
Court records showed the images found in Gelizon’s computer
were of children aged from 5 to 15 years doing erotic poses and sexual acts,
including “penetrative activity” with adults without the use of condoms.
The prosecution submitted to the court a folder of photos
and still shots from the videos
The judge pointed out that while the defendant suffered
stress after his arrest, he managed to stay on his job as a sales manager and
resigned only after he was charged.
The psychiatric report said Gelizon was now stable after
being reclusive and anxious after he was charged in court.
The psychological report said his downloading the child
pornography photos and videos was insufficient to suggest he was suffering from
pedophilic disorder. The report also said the risk of re-offending was not
high.
In mitigation, his lawyer said Gelizon had a clear record.
He was born in Hong Kong where he attended elementary school, but left for
the Philippines
He then set up a concrete block production business where he
employed 12 relatives, but sold the business following a downturn.
He returned to Hong Kong and
worked for various companies, where he rose from being a customer service
officer in a logistics solutions firm to sales executive in an electronic
services company, the defense counsel said. All rights reserved.
