Retired BBC Panorama director, 76, found with 832 child abuse images gasps in shock as he avoids jail after judge said his ‘poor health’ would make prison ‘particularly challenging’ during pandemic

• Victor Melleney, 76, gasped in shock when he was told he was not going to jail
• The retired producer was found guilty of possessing indecent photos of children
• He stored 832 indecent images of children between May 2011 and October 2018
• He was given 20-month jail sentence suspended for two years due to poor health

By Kate Dennett | 14 January 2022

DAILY MAIL — A retired BBC producer gasped in shock as he avoided jail due to his ‘poor health’ despite being found with more than 800 indecent images of children.

Victor Melleney, 76, stored 832 indecent images of children across his laptop, desktop, two hard drives and a WIFI dongle between May 2011 and October 2018.

Melleney, who worked on top shows including Question Time and Panorama, admitted he was addicted to legal pornography, but said he had no interest in indecent images of children, Kingston Crown Court heard.

When he was arrested at his west London home in 2018, National Crime Agency officers found 612 of the 832 images on a hard drive, but Melleney insisted he had no idea how the illegal material got there.

The officers also found illegal stun guns belonging to Melleney, and he admitted four charges of possession of prohibited weapons for discharge of noxious gas, namely three Tasers and CS gas spray, at an earlier hearing. […]