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LONDON - Actor Chris Langham is to be sentenced today after being found guilty of downloading child pornography from the internet.
The award-winning comedian and star of the BBC's "The Thick of It" was remanded in custody last month after his conviction for 15 child pornography offences.
The 58-year-old father-of-five watched internet videos of young girls being sexually abused and tortured at his family home in Kent.
One of the films showed a UK-based girl aged eight, tied up and blindfolded, being abused by her father, police said.
During the trial at Maidstone Crown Court, the judge instructed the jury of seven men and four women to find Langham not guilty of indecently assaulting a teenager.
The woman, now in her 20s, came forward after a police raid on Langham's home. She told the court she had lost her virginity to Langham when she was 14.
Giving evidence, Langham said he downloaded the images and videos when researching a character for a BBC comedy.
He also told the court that he had been abused himself as a child and wanted to "look into the eyes" of adult abusers on the internet.
- REUTERS
