Police found hundreds of indecent images and videos of children aged between three and 13 on a man’s laptop.
It came after an investigation using sophisticated technology which identifies who is watching illicit pornographic material online. The online address led Humberside Police to the Scunthorpe home of Andrew Follows, 60, of Bolsover Road. He was taken to Birchin Way police station where he made admissions to making indecent images of children.
A laptop and three mobile phones were seized from the address where Follows lived alone on September 15, 2022. At Grimsby Crown Court, prosecutor, Nick Peacock said the vile material included still photographs and videos.
There were 193 images and five videos of the worst indecent material exposing children. There were over 800 images and videos of other abuse of children. They had been made between May 2012 and September 2022, the court heard.
For Follows, Craig Lowe said his client had made full admissions following his arrest. The defendant had previous good character with no offences recorded against him, he said.
The defence barrister said his client was a working man, but with low self-esteem and lived an isolated life, after the death of his mother during the Covid pandemic.
Follows pleaded guilty to three offences of making indecent images of children.
Sentencing him, Judge Paul Watson KC said: “These are not victimless crimes. These are real children subjected to real abuse. The indignity and harm caused is incalculable. That’s what makes offending like this as serious as it is.”
The judge said the offences were discovered because the police, through various technological means, found he had been uploading various categories of child pornography.
He added a pre-sentence report by the probation service revealed Follows had an insight into his offending and had sought help from a support agency. A member of the NHS agency accompanied him to court.
Judge Watson imposed a 10-month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months. He ordered him to complete 20 Rehabilitation Activity Requirement days and 180 hours of unpaid work. A Sexual Harm Prevention Order, lasting 10 years, was imposed to monitor his use of the internet and it will be checked regularly by police officers. HE will be on the Sex offender Register for 10 years.
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Original artice: https://www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/all-about/scunthorpe
