Top Sheffield judge highlights sickening treatment of children who are sexually abused for content shared online

This follows a recent spate of cases at Sheffield Crown Court, in which numerous defendants have been brought to justice for downloading images and videos showing children and babies being raped and sexually abused.

Judge Peter Kelson QC has suggested that those who commit such crimes may believe that because they are not the ones who carry out and physically facilitate the abuse, that their involvement is limited to simply downloading images and videos.

However, Judge Kelson says they are the very individuals the despicable content is created for, and the demand they create fuels the illegal and vile trade of indecent images and videos of children.

“Individuals who look at such material must understand that this is not a victimless crime. These videos they watch, and images they view, are of real children, of real children being raped,” he said.

“That is the gravity of this sort of crime is that offenders further the trade by viewing the images and videos.”

Among the spate of cases involving defendants viewing and downloading indecent images of children includes that of David Fowler, aged 33, of Charnock Grove, Gleadless who downloaded more than 7,000 images and videos showing babies and children being sexually abused.

Other defendants recently sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court for viewing child abuse content online include: Michael Stuart, aged 38, of Mill Road, Ecclesfield; Matthew Theaker, aged 24, of Thorpe House Avenue, Norton Lees and Benjamin Grant, aged 26, now of Sighthill Terrace, Edinburgh.

Police tactics to snare offenders who view such deplorable content are becoming more and more sophisticated, and they also act upon intelligence provided by concerned members of the public.

The spate of cases have also laid bare the consequences facing those who commit, and are convicted of, crimes involving the viewing, downloading and distributing of child abuse material.

The related offences include making, downloading and viewing indecent images of children, broken down by legal category of image, with the most severe of the categories – involving the rape of children – being Category A, followed by Category B and C.

The offences fall under the Sexual Offences Act 2003, and anyone convicted of a sex offence will be required to sign on to the Sex Offenders’ Register – or face being convicted of another crime – and are likely to be subject to rigorous and invasive monitoring, which includes visiting a police station once a week, and informing the force of any changes of address or any foreign travel.

For those who have children or grandchildren, registering as a sex offender is likely to result in intervention from social services and could mean offenders are forced to move out of the family home and may be required to have supervision during all visits with loved ones under the age of 18.

Many offenders convicted of making, viewing or downloading indecent images of children are also made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order, which severely restricts a defendant’s access to the internet, and among other things, could also result in them being banned from places where children spend time.