Autistic (Asperger) Student had 900 child porn collection

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"AN AUTISTIC student who amassed more than 900 child porn pictures has been spared jail because his condition meant he couldn't bear to throw anything away.

Jonathan Bristow, 21, of Church Lane, Bromley Common admitted eight counts of making indecent images of children and three of possessing indecent images of children.

Mr Bristow's Asperger's Syndrome means he acts on impulse and becomes obsessive about collecting things.

The barman, whose social life revolves around a medieval battle re-enactment society, had downloaded 922 indecent images."

http://tinyurl.com/2ryl8x

From the Bromley Times

He's still being punished, but what an awful stigma that sort of reporting could encourage against people with AS. The comments absolve people with AS of too much responsibility. Lots of people have to fight impulses, not just people with AS. Really sad that Aspergers/Autism was made so prominent here..seems totally inappropriate.

Hmm. He is a paedophile, but granted if he wasn't thinking about it and acted on impulse, then it was fair that he was spared jail.

So this basically says that with the "autism" excuse, one can get away with just about anything.

No one said he was a paedophile. They said he had a collection of child pornographic images. I could easily see myself amassing that with no sexual feelings whatsoever if I decided to collect pics with people dress in blue boots or something like that... the child porn images would appear but not because they were porn but because they met what to me at the time would be much more important, blue boots. (Note: I've never done this, just creating an example)

Paedophilia is a sexual dysfunction not an action.

Even if his motivation wasn't sexual, it's against the law and it's wrong.
Even if it is an autistic obsession. Perhaps rapists have sexual obsessions, but they don't get off the hook because they were horny. If someone is a sadist they don't get off the hook for killing people because they got to urge to kill.

In general, I think that autism as an excuse is one of the greatest plights of the autistic community.

the more I think about it , the less I have to say about it.

The way I see it, crazy/sick people come from everywhere, and can be anyone. This time, he just happened to be autistic.

But the reportage does cast negative light on autism, and he was wrong to use it as an excuse/defense.

From the article:

He paid to join that site and download the images. He's a pedophile.

I don't think having Asperger's Syndrome should be an excuse for this. "He just wanted to collect them", they say.

I agree every time some crime is committed and AS is put up as the excuse, everyone else with AS gets stigmatized. This is why I dont generally let people know that I have AS anymore. A lot of people still believe Cho Seung Hui had AS and will associate me with him.

I agree. AS should not be an excuse for collecting child porn.

Back when I was much younger, I use to break into houses, buildings of all sorts, shoplift, etc.

I did most of these things on impulse. They were stimulating to me. I didn't need to do them, didn't have any addictions to feed, no need for things to sell for money, wasn't angry at the people I did these things to.

Now, knowing I have ADD/HD (didn't know it back then) and knowing that people with ADD/HD are rather impulsive, I could fall to my knees and beg forgiveness because of my 'condition'... but I don't and I am glad I was caught and given the punishment I got back then.

So, in short... I also agree with what appears to be the majority here... AS is not an excuse to be free from responsibility and the consequences of one's actions when those actions are deemed a terrible offense by society.

I do not know all the particulars of the case nor of the outcome other than what was posted here.
Just from what was posted here, I would say the court was too lenient.

And I also think it does cast a pallor over anyone with AS due to some people's reactions to stories like this.