Bridgerton actor spared jail for downloading child abuse images

Actor who appeared in Netflix series Bridgerton and blockbuster movie 1917 is spared jail after he downloaded hundreds of child abuse images and traded them on Instagram

• Kieren Curran, 23, was spared jail after downloading 293 images on his devices

An actor who appeared as an extra in Netflix’s Bridgerton and First World War blockbuster 1917 has been spared jail after he downloaded hundreds of child abuse images of children as young as five and traded them on Instagram.

West End theatre worker Kieren Curran, 23, of Ealing, west London, was seen shaking as he was sentenced to eight months in prison suspended for two years at Harrow Crown Court on Thursday.

He was caught after police raided his house on February 16, 2021, acting on intelligence about an Instagram account with indecent images of children. 

Curran starred as a smartly dressed extra in Bridgerton and as a soldier who collides with a character in an iconic battle scene from Sam Mendes’s Oscar and Bafta winning war film 1917. 

He also has stage credits for the London College of Music and as an assistant director on upcoming Amazon Prime series Red, White and Royal Blue.

Kieren Curran, 23, downloaded images of children as young as five – but was spared jail this week

Curran, 23, is an aspiring actor who has had roles in Bridgerton and 1917

Curran bumped into a main character in 1917, where he appeared as an extra

Police recovered a Macbook, iPhone, and San Disk USB with a total of 293 images, including of children between the age of five and 14 years old. 

Judge Kaplan said the ‘appalling offences’ automatically deserved a prison sentence, but he determined Curran’s good character and time spent on bail meant he was not an immediate danger to the public.

The court heard Curran was with his girlfriend when police raided his address. He opened the door and admitted having the illegal material to the officers. 

He is then said to have asked them: ‘Can we skip this bit?’

After being on bail for two years, Curran was eventually charged with seven offences. These were two counts for Category A, three for Category B, and two for Category C. 

Prosecuting Mr Phillips said: ‘He then said I am guilty, I have loads of images in an account. 

‘He had used the Instagram account to trade images and said he had a problem.’

One of the Class A images was described in court as a moving image, depicting a girl aged between eight and 12 during sexual activity. 

The court heard Curran had attempted to kill himself ‘because he hated what he had done.’

Curran said all the devices were his and provided passwords to officers. In an interview he admitted collating the images, but said it was ‘a way of self harm to himself’.

Defending, Ms Fairbairn said Curran was of previous good character, had shown remorse, and had downloaded a ‘relatively small’ number of images. 

Commenting on the charging delay, she added: ‘That was a very long delay for no real reason and it has been hanging over Mr Curran, giving him anxiety.’

She continued: ‘In essence he downloaded a bulk quantity of porn, most of that legal but he accepts some of it was not.’

‘His memory of what it was is mainly teenage children and not primary age children. 

The court heard Curran was with his girlfriend when police raided his address. He opened the door and admitted having the illegal material to the officers

‘Although he does not dispute what the counts set out, certainly his memory was of teenagers as opposed to very young children.’

Ms Fairbairn also told the court how Curran had been bullied at school and was diagnosed with borderline personality disorder. 

She said her client, who works at The Lyceum Theatre near The Strand, planned to become a stunt man, and had a role lined up in an upcoming Lord of the Rings TV series.

In his final remarks, Judge Kaplan said: ‘I must leave you in no doubt of the serious nature of these type of offences and make it very clear to you that I think you now accept these are most certainly not victimless crimes and the court is most concerned about the nature and number of photographs in these offences.’

Dressed in a blue suit and burgundy tie, Curran shook as he was handed eight months suspended for two years for two counts of Category A, three months suspended for two years for two counts of Category B, and one month suspended for two years for two counts of Category C. 

He was also ordered to pay £494 in costs, to do 40 hours of unpaid work, 30 days of rehabilitation, and complete the Horizon programme for internet sexual offenders.

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