[2025] EWCA Crim 1371

The author of the pre-sentence report described the offending, including the applicant's grooming behaviour, and emphasised that he continued to deny the sexual offending, claiming that the victims had conspired against him. Whilst accepting his guilt in respect of the images offences, he tried to downplay his conduct by suggesting that he had a sexual interest in teenage girls, whereas the police analysis indicated that the images depicted females between the age of 4 and 12. Despite the applicant's denial, the author of the report considered that there was a very clear link between the images offences and the sexual offending. The applicant admitted accessing abuse images on the dark web. He said that he understood how it worked. He also referred to an online space on the dark web for sexual offenders who shared abuse images. The author considered that the lack of relevant previous convictions was not representative of the applicant's character, given that he had been offending for a significant period of time and the nature of that offending.

The author of the report concluded that the applicant presented a High Risk of Serious harm to children as his behaviours had evidenced that he had the criminal capacities and attitudes to subject young children to serious sexual abuse; but for the complainants' disclosures to police, the applicant would have continued to offend; and his offence supportive attitudes were still active.