Andrew Mullen 69

Description

A prolific paedophile had so many images of children being raped and abused he created a sophisticated filing system so that he could access what he wanted on any given day. Andrew Mullen, 68, was back in the dock eight years after being sentenced for near identical offences.

Mullen, of New Road, Liskeard, appeared at Truro Crown Court for sentence having pleaded guilty to three charges of making indecent photographs of children.

Prosecuting the case, Ryan Murray told the court how in April 2020 the National Crime Agency received a referral from their counterparts in New England alerting them to accounts being used on an encrypted cloud platform. The accounts were created using an email linked to Mullen.

Local police raided Mullen's address and when they arrived he said, "not again, I haven't done anything". During interview Mullen said that the accounts weren't his and suggested he may have been hacked.

Eventually police gained access and found that the account was being used for storage of child abuse images. They found a file system with the indecent images and videos categorised under different titles.

In total officers found 875 Category A images and videos, 483 Category B and 5,465 Category C. Some of the material showed children as young as two or three being raped and abused, many of whom were in severe pain or distress. There was also evidence that Mullen had been involved in chat with other paedophiles, asking if they "had anything for him".

Representing Mullen, Piers Norsworthy told the court that his client had been in the Navy for 32 years before leaving and working in charity and theatre. Mr Norsworthy went on to say that Mullen has a 38-year-old son who suffers from cerebral palsy and is in residential care. Mr Norsworthy added that Mullen has ongoing health problems which "will make prison extremely uncomfortable for him".

Sentencing Mullen, Judge Simon Carr noted Mullen's previous offending and said that the treatment he attended and engaged with "failed to stop his entrenched sexual interest in children".

Judge Carr said that the folders of child abuse material were created so that he could access what he wanted without having to scroll through his vast collection of filth. Judge Carr added: "You had 875 Category A images showing children as young as two or three being raped for your entertainment. When confronted your reaction was to lie and pretend it was nothing to do with you and you put forward the fanciful suggestion you'd been hacked."

Judge Carr noted Mullen mitigation, mainly his caring responsibilities and his health, but said nothing other than an immediate custodial sentence was appropriate. Mullen was jailed for 15 months.