A custodial sentence is almost an inevitable result for child pornography possession offences, but suspension may be justified in rare and exceptional cases where the offender's youth, early conditioning to the material, prospects of rehabilitation, and exceptional hardship to dependants combine to outweigh the need for general deterrence. The utility of immediate custody is questionable where the offender requires urgent psychological treatment. Fresh evidence on appeal may be admitted where it sheds new light on facts that existed at the time of sentencing.
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