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31
Mar 2021
A paedophile who collected numerous sex videos involving children and encouraged a girl to expose her breasts on the internet has been jailed for nearly two years.
Timothy Cheesbrough, 35, from Ripon, trawled the internet for inappropriate pictures of children as young as four, York Crown Court heard.
He downloaded videos of children being raped and sexually abused and depraved movie clips featuring “erotic” dancing by a young girl, said prosecutor Julian Jones.
Cheesbrough, a supermarket worker, visited numerous websites, including one in which he used video technology to encourage a girl, aged between 12 and 13, to expose herself.
He first came to the attention of police in September 2018 after they were tipped off about illegal online activity linked to his computer IP address, mobile phone number and associated Yahoo email accounts with female usernames.
Police searched his flat on September 27 2018. Cheesbrough was initially arrested on suspicion of the possession and distribution of indecent images.
He refused to answer police questions but forensic analysis of his internet devices, including an iPhone, desktop computer and hard drive, revealed a collection of more than 170 illegal child images.
These covered of all levels of seriousness including 61 Category A images and videos – the worst kind of such material.
Prosecutor Mr Jones said some of the Category A videos were “particularly disturbing” and included girls between four and 12 years old being raped by adult males.
In one of the recorded videos - from a website frequented by like-minded individuals - Cheesbrough, and possibly others, urged a girl in a school uniform to expose an intimate part of her body.
Mr Jones said:
Cheesbrough, of Kirkgate, had used PowerPoint software to record the live-streamed video, added Mr Jones.
She added Cheesbrough had mental health problems and had been extremely distressed since his arrest in 2018. He had since sought professional help and had been planning to set up his own electrician’s business.
Judge Sean Morris told Cheesbrough:
Cheesbrough was jailed for 21 months, of which he will serve half behind bars before being released on licence.
He was also given a sexual harm prevention order, which will last seven years and is designed primarily to curb his internet activities.
He was also placed on the sex offenders’ register, which forces him to notify the authorities about any change in his circumstances and whereabouts after he is released from prison.
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