Sex Offender Jailed After Caught with Sick Child Images
A registered sex offender has been locked up following a police raid that uncovered indecent images of children.
Police Sting Follows Routine Check
The Management of Sexual Offenders and Violent Offenders (MOSOVO) team visited 70-year-old Francis Thomas last March to check he was sticking to his sex offender notification rules.
Thomas was required to declare any digital devices and all online profiles, including aliases.
He admitted owning two mobiles and an e-reader and handed over a list of his online usernames.
Hidden Accounts Exposed in Police Probe
Weeks later, the Police Online Investigation Team received tip-offs that accounts linked to Thomas were accessing illegal child abuse images.
In April, officers raided his home on North Road, Westcliff. They seized a memory card from one mobile phone containing 17 indecent images of children and two extreme pornographic pictures.
Another MOSOVO visit in November uncovered internet accounts on Thomas’s phone that he had failed to declare.
Admits Charges and Sentenced to 13 Months
Thomas pleaded guilty to making indecent images of children, possessing extreme pornography, and breaching notification laws at Basildon Crown Court on 23 July.
He was jailed for 13 months on 28 August.
He’ll stay on the Sex Offenders Register for another decade and remain subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.
The two confiscated devices are set to be destroyed.
