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Man jailed for possessing hundreds of thousands of child abuse images
28 June 2012
A MAN has been jailed for nine months today (Thursday 28 June) after being convicted of possessing hundreds of thousands of indecent images of children.
The 47-year-old from Cannock was found guilty of the offences at Wolverhampton Crown Court on Tuesday 8 May.
He had pleaded not guilty to 13 charges of possessing indecent images, two of possessing extreme pornography and one of showing an indecent photograph of a child.
The judge today ordered the destruction of all of his computers and told him he will have to sign the sex offenders' register for 10 years.
He was arrested after a sex worker saw the images on his laptop when he picked her up in Wolverhampton in 2009.
An investigation was launched after she informed police about the images she had seen.
PC Joe Trusselle, who led the inquiry, said: "This was a lengthy and complex investigation which involved us trawling through hundreds of thousands of images over many, many months.
"Throughout the investigation he told lie after lie about how they got there, but thankfully the jury saw through this and we are very pleased with the sentence he has been given today.
"It's important we acknowledge the crucial role of the woman who came forward and told us about the images in the first place. Without her, he would never have been arrested and would not have been jailed today."
As well as local officers, West Midlands Police has a specialist Child Online Safeguarding Team, which is dedicated to tackling those who use the internet as a vehicle to offend against children.
PC Trusselle added: "Work to tackle paedophiles is going on every day across the West Midlands, whether it's grooming for sexual activity or making, possessing or distributing indecent images.
"If offenders think that collecting child abuse images is something they can get away with, they need to think again."
For more information about online safety for children, visit www.thinkuknow.co.uk.
