Locations
Speakman Street, Runcorn, Cheshire, WA7
Description
A CONVICTED sex offender has been locked up after being caught with depraved images of children being sexually abused.
Michael Mitchell was previously handed a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) and ordered to sign the sex offender register, in a bid to limit his ability to reoffend.
However, Cheshire Police found the vile material on the 34-year-old’s devices in Runcorn, and he was hauled before the courts.
The defendant was subsequently charged with three counts of making an indecent photograph of a child and one of possessing prohibited images of children
He was also charged with two counts of failing to comply with the terms of his sex offender register notification requirements, and one of breaching a SHPO.
Mitchell admitted each offence at a previous hearing, with sentencing at Chester Crown Court adjourned until recently to allow for a pre-sentence report to be prepared.
Laura Knightly, prosecuting, explained that the authorities found 437 indecent images of children being sexually abused on Mitchell’s devices.
Of these, 49 were graded as category A – the most severe form involving child rape – while 48 were category B and 340 were category C.
A forensic examination also uncovered 671 prohibited images of children. These are not photographs and are often of an animated or cartoon nature.
Further offences uncovered included Mitchell failing to notify the police of a number of usernames and emails that he was using – in breach of the terms of his sex offender register requirements.
In addition, the defendant installed software on his computer that masked his internet search history, such as secure browsers and clean-up programmes, and had cloud-based storage – all in breach of the terms of his SHPO.
In sentencing, judge Simon Berkson concluded that appropriate punishment could only be achieved by way of immediate custody.
Mitchell, of Speakman Street in Runcorn, was sentenced to three years in prison.
He was also ordered to sign the sex offender register indefinitely, while an order to deprive him of his electronic devices seized by police was approved.