An ex-researcher at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) who allegedly had offensive images of children was given a six-month jail term on Friday ( Feb 28 ).
Jason Scott Herrin, 50, had 90 pictures of babies being sexually abused in his cellphone, which was seized from his personal product in 2020.  , Herrin, an American, was a primary research fellow at NTU but has since been fired.  ,
He admitted to one count of possessing child abuse materials, three other counts of which included conversing with another person to offer 12-year-old women funds for sexual solutions, and having 31 vulgar movies taken into account for his punishment.
The prosecutor was informed that Herrin’s phone was seized as a result of a police report on a matter that was not made public.  ,
When his telephone was sent for criminal examination, 90 outrageous photographs were found.  , These photographs depicted ladies in different states of undress.  ,
Since February, Herrin has been downloading this content.  ,
Although Herrin’s guilt plea was a limiting factor, it was later and much longer, according to sheriff public prosecutor Sheldon Lim.  , Herrin had first been charged in January 2022.  ,
He was scheduled to challenge his accusations, but he admitted guilt on the first day of his test on March 18 of that year. The petition was afterwards retracted, leading to the present reading.  ,
In contrast to other cases where criminals have distributed or uploaded images, Herrin’s attorney Sukhmit Singh said in a gimmick that his customer had downloaded the materials for his own use.  ,
He added that his customer had a” superb status” and had been diagnosed with persistent depressive illness. The physician has stated that Herrin’s risk of offending was small, he added.  , Replying to this, Mr Lim noted that Herrin’s medical record did not state a direct link between his situation and the crimes.  ,
Mr Singh said his customer has suffered according to long investigations.
Mr. Singh questioned why his client had just entered a guilty plea on the first day of the test because the prosecution had not allowed the defense access to the evidence.
After Herrin requested to submit the start of his four-week jail term to live function and lease issues, the prosecution and the defense argued briefly over Herrin’s bail amount.  ,
Mr. Singh argued that the bail amount should be the same. The prosecution argued that Herrin would have had plenty of time to prepare and that the proceedings had now spanned a long period of time. The prosecution requested to double the sum from the current S$ 20 000 to S$ 40 000.  ,
Mr. Singh pushed for no change to the loan amount, stating that his customer would probably need to leave Singapore after serving his expression and that this would give him time to sort out any loose ends. He said it was” certainly fair” to have the loan amount increased. He took problem with the lawyer’s point on things being delayed, pointing out that it was the trial that had failed to disclose files.
According to Principal District Judge Toh Yung Cheong, it is customary for loan amounts to be raised if the accused is a stranger with fewer relations to Singapore. He added that the defense had requested a four-week postponement because it was “on the longer side.”  ,
Events finally settled on having Herrin’s loan increased by S$ 10, 000 with a shorter deferment time. On March 7, Herrin did turn herself in.  ,