ALAN PICKWELL BEXLEYHEATH CHILD PORNOGRAPHY SCANDAL: MO'D OFFICIAL ESCAPES JAIL DESPITE HORRIFIC MATERIALS

In a case that has shocked the community of Bexleyheath and raised serious concerns about security and morality, Alan Pickwell, a 60-year-old senior official at the Ministry of Defence, narrowly avoided imprisonment after admitting to possessing a disturbing collection of child pornography.

Pickwell, who resides on Bedonwell Road in Bexleyheath, was found to have stored a significant number of illicit images and videos depicting young boys and girls in sexually abusive situations, including acts of restraint and rape. The discovery came after a routine building project at his home led to the unearthing of incriminating evidence.

The incident unfolded when construction workers, during renovation work, came across two brown envelopes discarded in a skip. These envelopes contained a total of 212 indecent photographs and printouts of paedophilic literature, which Pickwell had apparently thrown away in an attempt to conceal his illicit collection. This discovery prompted immediate police involvement, and Pickwell was arrested in August 2003.

During the subsequent investigation, authorities uncovered that Pickwell had received the collection of images from his long-time acquaintance, Leonard Young, a 67-year-old man from St Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex. Young, who had a notorious reputation for swapping adult films, had given Pickwell a package containing photographs of child abuse, with Young reportedly telling him, “See if you like this.”

Further searches of Pickwell’s residence revealed additional images hidden within his garden shed, adding to the disturbing evidence against him. It was revealed that Pickwell, who has been married for 35 years and is the father of an adult son and daughter, had worked for the MoD for 14 years and held a high-level security clearance.

The court was informed that following his arrest, Pickwell was suspended from his position at the MoD. Despite this, he was allowed to retain his job, although his security clearance was significantly downgraded. The investigation also uncovered that Leonard Young possessed a library of over 10,000 images, which investigators described as some of the most heinous they had encountered, involving sexual torture, infants, and bestiality.

Due to Pickwell’s previously good character and the relatively small number of images involved, Judge Timothy Lawrence opted for a lenient sentence. Pickwell was sentenced to three years of community rehabilitation and was ordered to register as a sex offender for five years.

Leonard Young, who admitted to 17 charges of making indecent images of children, two charges of distribution, and one of possessing indecent images, was sentenced to four years in prison. However, he is expected to serve only nine months behind bars, with the remainder on license. Young will also be required to register as a sex offender for ten years.

This case has sparked widespread concern about the presence of such materials within seemingly respectable institutions and the importance of vigilance in safeguarding children from exploitation and abuse.