ALAN BROOME FROM HELSTON AND ILLOGAN ESCAPES JAIL AFTER CHILD ABUSE IMAGE SCANDAL IN PLYMOUTH AND NORTH HILL

In December 2013, Alan Broome, a young man from Painters Lane End in Illogan, found himself at the center of a serious criminal investigation involving the possession and distribution of indecent images of children. The investigation was initiated after police received credible information that Broome was using the internet at his grandparents' residence in Helston to access a file-sharing platform known for exchanging illicit material.

On January 18, police executed a search warrant at the address, uncovering a disturbing cache of digital content on Broome's computer and associated storage devices. The authorities discovered nearly 9,000 active images and over 500 video files depicting children in various states of abuse. These images were classified on a severity scale from one to five, with the majority falling into the more serious categories, indicating the disturbing nature of the material.

During initial police interviews, Broome claimed that his actions were not driven by sexual interest but rather by a misguided attempt to identify and report paedophiles to the authorities. He stated that he was actively seeking out these individuals online with the intention of providing information to law enforcement agencies. Broome insisted that he had never viewed the images for personal gratification, asserting that his purpose was solely to assist in catching offenders.

However, forensic analysis of Broome's computer painted a different picture. The sheer volume of images and videos, coupled with the frequency of his activity, strongly contradicted his claims. Law enforcement experts concluded that Broome's assertions of innocence were