June 2010

‘Evil’ carer jailed for possessing hundreds of appalling child porn images and movies

CARER Stephen Howard has been jailed for 18 months for possessing hundreds of “appalling” images and footage of child porn.

Some of the images stored on his computer involved a six-month-old baby, while others included children aged between three and seven years.

Howard, 47, of Woad Lane, Great Coates, admitted 24 charges – including 18 of possession and six of possession for showing to others – at Grimsby Crown Court, relating to offences committed between 2006 and last year.

He was banned from working with children indefinitely and order to be on the Sex Offenders’Register for ten years.

Committing him to an indefinite sex offenders’ prevention order, Recorder Euan Duff said: “The increase in possession and distribution inevitably leads to an increased market. That is the evil behind this offending and leads on to the abuse of children further down the line.

“There were a very large number of images of children. Some of these images are appalling.

“I hope you are utterly ashamed of what you have allowed yourself to be involved with.”

Prosecuting, Stephen Welch said police officers discovered the haul of hundreds of images and movies on Howard’s computer when they executed a warrant on his home in April last year.

The images were shared with another individual over a file-sharing system, the court heard.

Jonathan Spicer, mitigating, said Howard provided full-time care for his invalid mother.

“There is no evidence to show that he is part of a wider paedophile ring that is sending images,” he said, adding Howard was not “commissioning the images” or present when they were created.

He presented references to the court, including one from the defendant’s mother.

Recorder Duff was also told how Howard had helped raise £250,000 for a good cause in the community, which was not named in court.

An order was made for the forfeiture and destruction of the computer and the disks containing the obscene images.