Sheffield courts: Pervert hangs head in shame after being caught with indecent images of youngsters

Police caught Richard Kelly, aged 45, of Oxclose Park Rise, Halfway, Sheffield, with class A, B and C indecent images of children after they seized his mobile phone and a computer from his former home during a raid, Sheffield Crown Court heard.

Zaiban Alam, prosecuting, told the hearing on October 19 how police had attended Kelly’s former home in 2017 and his phone and computer were examined.

Ms Alam added police found 532 category A images, 57 category B images and 578 category C images, with category A being the most serious.

Kelly told police he had accessed the images via chat rooms and he claimed he had been looking at them in disbelief and not for sexual gratification.

The defendant pleaded guilty to three counts of possessing indecent images relating to the three categories.

Thomas Welshman, defending, said Kelly is full of remorse and shame and wants to rehabilitate himself.

Mr Welshman added: “He has already taken steps, in my submission, to address his offending behaviour and to learn more about how this offending happened.”

Recorder Jonathan Sandiford QC rejected Kelly’s suggestion that he had not looked at the images for sexual gratification.

He told Kelly: “I can see the way you are hanging your head, you are trully ashamed to be in the dock of crown court.”

Recorder Sandiford sentenced Kelly to an 18-month community order with a rehabilitation requirement.

Kelly was also made subject to the Sex Offenders Register and to a Sexual Harm Prevention order for five years.