Locations
Pheasant Field Drive, Spondon, Derby, Derbyshire, DE21
Description
William Lai aged 67 collected vile pornography which showed children as young as nine being subjected to horrific abuse.
He appeared at the Old Bailey and pleaded guilty to three charges of possessing indecent images of children.
When National Crime Agency officers raided his brother Michael’s home on Castlemaine Avenue, Croydon, in November 2019 Michael confessed that he’d been downloading indecent images.
Michael told officers that a computer tower and three hard drives in his home belonged to his brother William, prosecutor Alice Holloway said.
An inspection of the devices revealed that they contained indecent images of children dating back to January 2015.
11,863 images were attributed to William.
He added: “You must understand that those are images of real children being abused, children who will have to live knowing that those images are out there for the rest of their lives.”
Judge Medland explained that the brothers had not been charged until March 2023 and that he was obliged to take that three-year delay into consideration when sentencing them.
He said: “In coming to that decision I want nobody to think that this court doesn’t take this offence very seriously. It is disgusting and offensive and it must stop.
Judge Medland added that he could not understand why police took over three years to charge the Lai brothers after the raid.
William, of Pheasant Field Drive in Derby, was given a 20-month prison sentence suspended for two years, while Michael was given a two-year prison sentence also suspended for two years.
The brothers will both be on the sex offenders register for ten years and will be subject to a sexual harm prevention order.
William was given a £1,500 fine.