ALAN WEBB SENTENCED IN WARRINGTON FOR BREACHING SEX OFFENCES ORDER AND POSSESSION OF INDECENT IMAGES

In December 2014, Alan Webb, a man from Greenings Court, Warrington, was sentenced to 16 months in prison after breaching a sexual offences prevention order (SOPO) and possessing two laptops he was legally prohibited from owning. This case highlighted Webb's previous criminal history and his blatant disregard for court orders.

Webb was first sentenced in April 2009 to two-and-a-half years after police discovered 34,569 indecent images of children on his computer. Prosecutor Jonathan Austin described the images as "very explicit, sickening, and disturbing," with many depicting children aged five and six, and some as young as two.

Following his release, Webb was visited nine times by police officers who repeatedly reminded him of the SOPO's conditions. Despite assurances of compliance, Webb's violations continued.

The breach came to light in October when a police officer in Bradford, during a visit to the home of another registered sex offender, observed Webb using a laptop to access sites including Facebook and Bitcoin. When asked for his name, Webb refused to provide details beyond "Alan," and was later identified through a report on the Warrington Guardian’s website. Webb was arrested on October 18, during which he admitted owning two laptops and using the internet over the past 18 months.

Defence lawyer Kyra Badman claimed the laptops were used for "entirely innocent purposes," stating, "He now realises how important it is to comply with the order – no matter how minor." However, Judge Raj Shetty described Webb's behavior as "persistent and deliberate," highlighting his belief that Webb considered the law selectively applicable. The judge emphasized that such breaches warrant custodial sentences, concluding, "In my view this is so serious that only a custody sentence can be justified."

The earlier 2009 case painted Webb as possibly Warrington's most prolific hoarder of paedophilic images, revealing he stored over 34,500 indecent images, some involving children as young as two. Webb, 28 at the time, of Poplars Avenue, Orford, was found guilty after admitting to possessing, downloading, and sharing these images.

Prosecutor Brett Williamson noted that Webb's collection included over 21,000 level-one images and 722 images at the most severe level five, depicting children engaged in disturbing acts. Investigators found 51 videos graded one to four on Webb’s devices following a police raid in April 2009. His illicit activities came to light through an American investigation into Google Hello, a chat program allowing users to download and comment on images.

Webb admitted to using Google Hello for over two years, primarily in pursuit of images of young girls aged 6 to 12, and expressed that he derived sexual gratification from the images, expressing surprise at the volume stored on his devices.

Although Webb was previously considered of good character, his actions led to substantial legal consequences. Defense counsel Nova Howarth acknowledged the embarrassment caused to Webb’s family and his lack of awareness of the full extent of the abuse involved. Webb was sentenced by Judge Stephen Clarke to two-and-a-half years in prison, disqualified from working with children, required to register as a sex offender for life, and subject to various sexual offence prevention orders. The judge remarked, “This is the largest number [of images] the court has come across in recent times. There are real victims—children aged four, five, and six—who were ruthlessly exploited. The impact on their future is incalculable. How people can do that to little children is beyond comprehension.”