WALTHAM ABBEY MAN ALAN MOORE JAILED FOR DOWNLOAD OF 16,000 ILLEGAL CHILD IMAGES

In a disturbing case that has shocked the community of Waltham Abbey, Alan Moore, a 54-year-old accountant residing on Chequers Walk, has been sentenced to 18 months in prison after authorities uncovered a vast collection of illegal child exploitation material on his personal devices. The police raid on Moore’s home revealed that he possessed more than 16,000 illicit images and 420 videos, stored across his laptop and floppy disks. Many of these images depicted children being subjected to sexual torture, with some showing distress on their faces, highlighting the severity and depravity of the material.

During the court proceedings at Chelmsford Crown Court, Recorder John Caudle expressed his grave concern over the nature of the images. He stated, “A substantial number of the children were clearly under 13, and some were as young as three or four years old. A number involved bondage of very young girls, and there was distress on the faces of a number of girls.” The details underscored the disturbing content Moore had accumulated.

Prosecutor Samantha Lowther explained that police officers, during their investigation, had informed Moore that they were examining his internet activities and file-sharing practices. Moore responded to the officers’ inquiries by claiming, “I’ve seen them on there. It’s only for academic reasons. I was curious.” Despite his assertion, there was no evidence to suggest that Moore had shared these images or shown them to others. However, the court noted that Moore had a prior conviction from 1985, when he received a two-year conditional discharge for indecent assault, adding context to his criminal history.

Moore’s defense lawyer, Andrew Fitch-Holland, described his client as a married man employed by a chartered accounting firm. He emphasized Moore’s interests in computers and his active sex life within his marriage. Fitch-Holland explained that Moore had encountered what he called a “Pandora’s Box” through a one-way download, which he described as a sent file that he accessed out of curiosity. The lawyer argued that Moore’s actions were reckless but not malicious, and clarified that there was no contact with any children—his behavior was rooted in fantasizing rather than actual abuse.

In court, Moore pleaded guilty to five charges related to the downloading of still images and videos depicting children in sexual contexts. As part of the sentencing, Recorder Caudle imposed an indefinite sex offenders prevention order and mandated that Moore be placed on the sex offenders’ register for life, reflecting the seriousness of his crimes.

Earlier in March 2013, Moore had already admitted to downloading over 15,000 indecent images of children, with some categorized by the Crown Prosecution Service as involving sadism or bestiality. During that hearing, the judge, Anthony Goldstaub QC, indicated that a custodial sentence of approximately 12 months might be appropriate, but emphasized the importance of assessing whether Moore had attempted to contact children. A report was ordered to evaluate the potential risk of contact, especially considering the discovery of a letter related to grooming, which was described as a fantasy. The court’s focus remained on determining the likelihood of future contact with minors before final sentencing.