Bristol man jailed for piracy

A man from Bristol has today been sentenced to 15 months in prison after pleading guilty to possessing illegally copied games, films, music and pornography.

Gary Boulter from Thornbury confessed to a total of 23 offences and was ordered to pay £12,000 towards prosecution costs.

Mr Boulter also requested that a further 144 such offences be taken into consideration, before being sentenced under the Trade Marks Act (1994) and the Video Recordings Act (1984).

Furthermore, a confiscation order for £10,500 was made under the provisions of the Proceeds of Crime Act (2002). If Mr Boulter has failed to pay the outstanding sum within six months, he would face a further nine months in prison.

Police were tipped off to Mr Boulter's activities when they received information he was running a 'copying factory' from his abode.

Investigators found Mr Boulter had an entire room configured for the purposes of copying games, films, music and pornography.

Over 2,300 copied discs, including PlayStation and Xbox games, were recovered by the police, as well as nearly 500 blank DVD-R discs and 173 copied inlays.

Estimates put the market value of the seized bounty at a staggering £50,000. During the interview process, Mr Boulter claimed the copying was just a hobby and he supplied his friends and family with them at no cost to them.

The police, however, provided evidence that he had indeed received money for his 'services'.

Michael Rawlinson, managing director of ELSPA, said: "I congratulate South Gloucestershire Trading Standards and local Police for successfully shutting down Gary Boulter’s criminal operation.

"ELSPA would like to thank everyone concerned in their attempts to protect legitimate local traders and remove illegal products from the marketplace."

Neil Derrick, senior enforcement officer for South Gloucestershire Trading Standards, said: "Mr Boulter has been dealt with severely by the court today and this should stand as a stern warning to others who are tempted to engage in this type of activity.

"He has not only lost his liberty, but now also has to pay significant sums of money in costs and under the confiscation order, as well as having all of his discs and associated equipment forfeited.

"He obviously had no regard for the local retailers whose businesses are badly affected by counterfeiting and he was supplying pornographic films, which are age restricted and the content of which means they should only be sold by a licensed sex shop."