Locations
Newstead Way, Loughborough, Leicestershire, LE11
Description
A phone store manager who stole videos and images of children from his customers mobile phones for his sexual gratification has been jailed.
Steven Drew, 38, of Newstead Way, Loughborough, Leicestershire appeared at Lincoln Crown Court earlier today (23 March) where he was jailed for seven years. Drew will also serve an extra two years on licence for the following:
- Sexual assault of a girl aged under 13.
- Five counts of taking indecent images of children.
- Three counts of making indecent images of children.
- Possession of prohibited images of children.
- Possession of extreme images.
- Two counts of voyeurism.
- Possession of a Paedophile manual.
- Three counts of causing a computer to perform function to secure/enable unauthorised access to a programme or data.
In 2022, Lincolnshire Police received information that an Emule user, a file sharing website, had shared and was offering to share indecent images of children online. A warrant was executed at an address in Lincolnshire on 11 January 2023, and Drew, who was living and working in Lincolnshire at the time, was arrested two days later on suspicion of distributing indecent images of children.
His digital devices were seized during the warrant. After forensic examination, detectives uncovered thousands of Category A-C images, as well as prohibited images of children and extreme images, with some of them dating all the way back to 2007. It was also found that Drew had been using his position as a manager in a phone shop to obtain images and videos of children when customers would bring their devices in.
Drew was further arrested on 8 January 2024 for possession of indecent images of children, taking indecent images of children and voyeurism. He was released on bail with one of the conditions being not having contact with any child under the age of 18.
Other evidence found on the 38-year-old’s phone also showed that he had sexually assaulted a young girl under 13 prior to him being arrested.
Whilst Drew was on bail the Paedophile Online Investigation Team (POLIT) worked tirelessly with their victim identification colleagues to ensure Drew’s victims were identified and safeguarded.
Drew was arrested for a third time in June 2025, on suspicion of 14 offences and was remanded into custody. During investigations it was found that Drew continued to take indecent images of children whilst he was on bail.
He pleaded guilty to 17 counts at a hearing at Lincoln Crown Court on Thursday 30 October and remained in custody until his next court appearance.
Drew has been placed on the sex offenders’ register for life and has also been given a lifetime Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO).
The officer in charge of the investigation, DC Nicola Paradowski from POLIT, said:
“Drew is a dangerous individual who has manipulated and exploited people to obtain images of their children for his sexual gratification. The type of offending Drew has conducted is abhorrent, and it’s evident from this case that Drew has a clear sexual interest in children, and that he would stop at nothing to fulfil his needs.
“I would like to thank the families for their courage and support throughout the investigation, even though this has been a deeply upsetting time for them. Lincolnshire Police take this type of offending extremely seriously and we continue to be relentless in our pursuit to bring people like Drew to justice.”
Judge Hirst who passed today’s sentence stated that Drew had a long-standing sexual interest in children and that he posed a significant risk of causing serious harm. Judge Hirst therefore deemed Drew as a dangerous offender which means he will serve an extended sentence period in prison.