Description
A FORMER CUMBRIAN MoD police officer who was secretly collecting and viewing child abuse images has been given a community order.
Andrew Stevenson, 24, who has now been sacked from his Ministry of Defence job in Barrow, was arrested after police raided his home in Ulverston in August last year, CarlisleCrown Court heard.
On his iPhone, police found a child abuse image of Category C - the least serious kind.
But a forensic examination of the defendant's three devices - the phone, an iPad and a desktop computer - led police to an online file storage account where Stevenson had amassed dozens more sickening images, including videos and images of Category A, the most serious kind.
The defendant earlier entered guilty pleas to the following three allegations:
* That on or before June 3, 2021, at Ulverston, he downloaded 94 Category A indecent photographs of children. Category A is the most serious category for this type of offence.
* That over the same period of time, also at Ulverston, he downloaded 37 Category B indecent images of children.
* And that over the same period, and also at Ulverston, he downloaded 34 Category C indecent photographs of children.
Kim Whittlestone, prosecuting, told the court: "He has a sexual attraction to children as young as seven."
Ellen Wright, defending, said Stevenson had been dismissed from his police officer role following a disciplinary hearing the day before he appeared in court for sentencing.
Stevenson did not want to make excuses, said Miss Wright. "He is thoroughly and utterly ashamed of himself," said the barrister.
She went on to argue that the best way to prevent a repeat of the defendant's criminal behaviour was not to send him to prison but to send him for an intensive sex offender treatment programme in the community.
Miss Wright spoke of Stevenson's mental health difficulties, including anxiety and depression. She pointed out also that since the prosecution was reported in the press the defendant had “gone into hiding.”
Miss Wright said: “He lives in a very small town and everybody in that town now knows about it and that has had a very isolating effect.”
Passing sentence, Recorder Anna Vigars KC told the defendant: “On August 17 last year, a warrant was executed at the house where you lived alone and three items were seized. A Category C image was found on your iPhone.
“It was replicated on your iCloud account and a significant number of [other] images were found.”
The judge noted that Stevenson’s collection of abuse images included “short films”, lasting several minute and depicting ”extreme sexual behaviour” which involved children, some of pre-pubescent age.
Recorder Vigars said the people should be able to invest trust in police officers and offending such as Stevenson’s broke down that trust.
The judge noted also the defendant’s previous good character, and how he provides care for his grandparents, taking them to medical appointments.
Recorder Vigars said that she could impose a short jail sentence but that option would include only limited opportuntiies for rehabilitation work, she said.
She therefore imposed a three-year community order which will include 200 hours of unpaid work as punishment and a “Moving Forward and Making Changes” programme, which will involve 300 hours of work to address his offending.
Stevenson, now living at West Park Crescent, Kilmaurs, Kilmarnock, East Ayrshire, will remain on the Sex Offender Register for five years and be subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for the same period.
This will include various restrictions, including preventing him from having unsupervised access to any child.
After the case, Katie Beattie, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “As a serving police officer, Andrew Stevenson was expected to uphold the law and protect people.
“By downloading these images he was feeding directly into an industry which sexually exploits children. The CPS and the police will continue to work together to robustly prosecute anyone who commits such abhorrent offences, particularly those in positions of trust in our society.”