A market trader caught selling pirated films and music has walked free from court.

Essex County Council's Trading Standards unit swooped on Gavin Koten, 23, at the Barleylands boot sale in Billericay on May 12.

Earlier, the council sent a letter to Koten and other traders believed to have been selling pirated material, warning them to stop, Basildon magistrates heard.

Koten claimed he did not receive his copy and continued to trade, with officers purchasing illegal copies of a CD by pop star Gareth Gates and later a pornographic film.

Police later seized a total of 174 pirated DVDs, videos and CDs from his stall, the court was told.

Titles included hits like Bend It Like Beckham and Monsters Inc, selling for £5.

Defence lawyer Paul Greenberg said Koten was a "hard-working young man" who recently established a theatre company teaching acting to young children.

Koten, from Chigwell, had not been involved in the production of the pirated goods and earned just £50 a day plus commission for selling the goods for someone else.

Despite two years in jail being the maximum penalty for just one of the charges, including counts of false trade description and having no classification certificate, chairman of the magistrates Terrence Kemman-Lane chose not to jail Koten.

Instead, he imposed 50 hours community service and court costs of £1,338.

Mr Kemman-Lane said: "It is a crime without a victim in as much as there is no individual who directly suffers."

But prosecutor and trading standards officer Peter Gaywood said this was a commonly held misconception.

"For every one of these illegal sales there is a shopkeeper on the high street who loses a sale, so it is not only big business which loses."

A Trading Standards spokesman said further action is planned against CD and video pirates.

Published Tuesday, December 17, 2002

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