In a recent development, Ian Hobley, a 55-year-old resident of Town Lane, Bebington, has been sentenced to two years in prison for violating his Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO). Hobley pleaded guilty to 11 offences, including making indecent images, possessing prohibited images, and breaching the terms of his SHPO.
The breaches involved Hobley’s failure to register his electronic devices with the police, neglecting to make them available for inspection, and deleting internet history. The case unfolded on Friday, October 6, 2023, when officers conducting a routine home visit discovered an unregistered device at Hobley’s residence. Subsequent examination revealed suspected indecent images of children, leading to his immediate arrest.
Further scrutiny of Hobley’s devices exposed 450 Category A images, 1,179 images in Categories B and C, and two Category A videos. In addition to his two-year prison sentence, Hobley has been issued an updated SHPO, extending his monitoring for ten years.
Detective Inspector Steven O’Neill emphasised the importance of routine visits conducted by the Sex Offender Unit, stating, “Hobley was arrested after officers on a routine home visit as part of his SHPO found an electronic device that he hadn’t registered with us. This led to the sickening discovery of explicit sexual images of children.”
O’Neill highlighted the collaborative efforts of law enforcement with partners in probation and housing to ensure public protection and minimise the risk of further offending.
