Locations
Winchester, Hampshire, SO2
Description
A Winchester man who was caught with more than 70 indecent images of teenage boys on his phone has been spared jail because his low IQ meant he wasnt able to understand what was happening.
Scott Fletcher-Wells, 25, was instead handed a three-year community order by the judge, who cited his potential vulnerability in prison as a reason for sparing him a stint behind bars.
Hampshire Police were first alerted to Fletcher-Wells after an indecent picture of a teenage boy was uploaded to an Instagram account dubbed Little.Gays in June 2020.
After matching the phone number and IP address linked to the account with Fletcher-Wells, police visited his shared flat in Staple Gardens and found him locked in his bedroom, where officers seized an iPhone 6, Samsung phone and a USB adaptor.
A search of the Samsung phone revealed three indecent images of children under Category A, eleven under Category B and 60 under Category C. The court heard the images were mostly of teenage boys but did feature the odd image of a girl.
He refused to comment while being interviewed by police but did hand over the pin to the phone, where among the pornographic images they also found selfies of Fletcher-Wells and his family.
The court heard from the prosecution that he was previously known to police and was cautioned for two sexual offences, which included possessing indecent images of children, between the ages of 12 and 14.
He subsequently spent a lot of his teenage years in foster care, with his defence barrister, Chloe Jay, remarking that his case worker believed he was himself abused as a child - something Fletcher-Wells said he didnt have any memory of.
Speaking on behalf of Fletcher-Wells, she said: He was very keen to admit what he has done and entered a guilty plea at the earliest opportunity. He wants to work with probation and is very alive to the fact that his behaviour must change, and that there is a lot of work to be done.
Sentencing Fletcher-Wells on Wednesday, April 13, judge Susan Evans QC said she was conscious of his low IQ and the fact he attended a special educational needs school when he was younger.
A psychiatric report submitted to the court also indicated it is likely he be autistic, which she said could make him potentially extremely vulnerable in custody.
She added: Although you had images in your possession which fall under Category A, the number of images you had was very few, and the ages of the children involved were older than the court usually sees.
I am more concerned about the fact you were cautioned when you were 14 for a similar offence, which should have been the signal that this sort of behaviour is not acceptable.
What you need to understand is the children in these photographs are real, they are victims who are being harmed, exploited and emotionally damaged by the people making them. By downloading these pictures, you are the market which drives this sort of abuse.
Fletcher-Wells was handed a three-year community order and told he must attend a sexual harm prevention course of the courts choosing.
Hell also have to engage in 45 days of rehabilitation activity and pay a fine of 100 within 28 days.
A deprivation order was made for the destruction of the phone, with Fletcher-Wells, who was allowed to remain seated during the sentencing, told he was barred from using devices including a mobile phone or computer for a period of five years, with the exclusion of work-related activity. His name has been added to the sex offenders register.