Child porn man kills himself

CHILD porn pervert Christopher Venis is believed to have killed himself just hours before he was due to be sentenced at Bury Crown Court today.

Venis, of Low Road, Earl Soham, was convicted of 16 offences of making indecent pictures of children under 16, between April 1999 and March 2003.

But today a coroner's ambulance and police were called to his home in Earl Soham.

A spokesman for the East Anglian Ambulance Trust today confirmed paramedics had been sent to Venis' address this morning after a telephone call from his house.

He said: "We got a call at 8.37am to an attempted suicide. A person was hanging when they were found at the address."

The spokesman added the ambulance crew and a paramedic sent to Low Road tried to resuscitate Venis. However it is believed their attempts failed.

At Venis's first court date on July 28, the Evening Star reported that he was said to have been recovering in hospital. Magistrates in Ipswich heard that his sister had telephoned the court to say he was in hospital after taking an overdose.

The 48-year-old later pleaded guilty to all the charges on August 18, at South East Suffolk Magistrates Court in Ipswich, and was due to be sentenced today.

He was scheduled to appear before his honour Judge John Holt at Bury Crown Court today , but proceedings were adjourned after barristers told the judge what had happened.

Bury St Edmunds court clerk Robert Utting said the details of today's hearing were heard by the judge in his chambers, rather than in open court.

He said the case would either be mentioned again in court by the end of today, or be adjourned to October 6.

The case was officially adjourned, because court cases against people who have died, can never be discontinued until a death certificate has been produced in court.

The court has to be satisfied that the person named is deceased, before proceedings can be marked as 'no effect'.