April 2023

Ex-boxer caught with thousands of indecent images of children

A talented ex-boxer who was “preoccupied with teenage girls” was caught with a huge haul of more than 26,300 indecent images of children.

The sick pictures that he viewed were part of a “disgusting” trade that led to more young children being sexually abused and unscrupulous people making money from them, Hull Crown Court heard.

Joe Wilson, 33, of St George’s Road, off Hessle Road, west Hull, admitted three offences of possessing indecent images of children between April 2016 and January 2021.

Stuart Bell, prosecuting, said that Wilson was arrested at his home in February 2021 after his online activities came to the attention of the National Crime Agency. Two phones were analysed.

There were images and videos in the most serious Category A. They were in a “zipped” folder, a way of storing large numbers of images but taking up little space on the phone.

Wilson claimed that he had downloaded and viewed only 529 of these images. He had saved and accessed links to websites known for having indecent images of children.

There were 114 pages of internet history linked to the websites, with search terms including “little girls”. There were also searches for “Lolita” and under-18 dating apps.

Chat logs showed that he had communicated with multiple girls. Wilson had sent intimate pictures of himself and had received naked pictures back from one girl. There were no charges regarding this aspect, however.

Judge Mark Bury said: “He is sexually preoccupied and likes girls under 18.”

Judge Bury told Wilson: “You have a sexual interest in teenage girls between 16 and 19. You were essentially looking for females who were under 18 but not necessarily under 16.”

The vast majority of the images found were of girls aged under 16 but very few were under the age of 10. “You had a high sex drive and you were sexually preoccupied,” said Judge Bury.

“Offences like this are always serious. There are victims. Children under the age of 18 need protection.”

Wilson was given a one-year suspended prison sentence and 20 days’ rehabilitation. He was given a 10-year sexual harm prevention order and must register as a sex offender for 10 years. The two phones will be forfeited.