Michael Tatham, 45, was sentenced at Reading Crown Court on Tuesday (July 25), for three counts of making an indecent photograph/pseudo-photograph of a child and for breaching a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO).

He was caught between January 1, 2020 and May 6, 2022 with 778 indecent photographs which police found on a laptop and a USB stick.

Tatham had 155 Category A images, 123 Category B images and 500 Category C images.

It was found the laptop also had a web browser capable of accessing the dark web which Tatham had used to make illegal searches.

Judge Kirsty Real said the facts of the case show ‘deliberate attempts’ to breach his existing SHPO which was put in place in 2017 after he was found with more than 1,300 indecent images of children aged as young as 4

He was caught after showing a barmaid from a pub in Theale a horrific video of a young girl being abused.

Tatham, of Tippett Rise, Reading, was jailed for 17 months for the Category A images. He received concurrent sentences for the remaining charges and a new SHPO was put in place to last 10 years.

August 2017

Pervert handed suspended sentence

Sexual images of children as young as four were found on a USB after a man showed a barmaid a video of a young girl being raped on his laptop.

Michael Tatham, formerly of Mulberry Way, Theale, has been left homeless after he was found with more than 1,300 indecent images of children and disowned by his family.

The 39-year-old narrowly avoided jail after admitting to being in possession of 100 images of the most serious kind and five videos of children being sexually assaulted.

Police were contacted by a barmaid from a pub in Theale after the defendant showed her a horrific video of a girl called Emily being abused.

Michael Tatham, prosecuting at Reading Crown Court on Tuesday, August 1, said: “During his conversation with the landlady, he opened his laptop and and started playing a video which took her by surprise.

“It was a horrific film involving adult males and young children between the ages of six and eight.

“During the course of playing it he pointed at one of the young girls and said ‘this is Emily, isn’t she lovely, look they are enjoying it.’”

The barmaid contacted police and when he was arrested a USB with hundreds of images was in his clenched fist.

Judge Johanna Cutts, concluded: “Young children as young as four have been sexually assaulted for the gratification of people like you.

“If it was not for people like you these types of images and abuse would not be a problem.

“There is an awful lot wrong with your life and I hope you will used this chance to make sure nothing like this happens again.”

Tatham admitted to possessing more than 100 indecent images of children of Category A and Category B and a further 1,100 images of Category C.

He received a sentence of 12 months, suspended for two years, and was ordered to complete 180 hours of unpaid work, 50 days of rehabilitation and was handed a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for 10 years.