ALEX EDGECOURT CAUGHT WITH CHILD ABUSE IMAGES IN LEAMINGTON SPA AND WALSALL

In August 2021, a disturbing case emerged involving Alex Edgecombe, a man with ties to both Leamington Spa and Walsall, who was found to be in possession of a significant collection of illegal child abuse images. The incident took place in Scotland, where authorities uncovered the extent of his illicit activities during a raid on his property in Auchinleck, East Ayrshire.

Edgecombe, a 33-year-old IT professional, was discovered to have stored thousands of indecent images across multiple devices. The police investigation revealed that the images were spread between his mobile phone, a Samsung S9, and an online cloud storage account on Mega. According to court reports, he admitted that he had downloaded these images unintentionally while browsing hook-up websites, claiming that he had not deleted the files because he was too lazy to do so. Despite his explanation, the evidence was overwhelming, and the authorities found a total of 3,475 images on his devices.

Prosecutors detailed that during a police raid at 7:45 am on September 25, 2020, officers entered the property and found Edgecombe in a bedroom. The search uncovered 1,366 images and 2,109 videos depicting child abuse. The Procurator Fiscal Depute, Martina McGuigan, stated in court that Edgecombe had been active on several gay chat groups, where he claimed he had accidentally clicked links that led to videos of children being abused. This revelation added to the severity of the case, highlighting the disturbing nature of his online activities.

At Ayr Sheriff Court, Edgecombe pleaded guilty to possessing indecent images of children on multiple occasions between January 14, 2019, and September 25, 2020. The court was informed that his address was listed as Walsall but was later updated to Leamington Spa. Sheriff Mhairi MacTaggart deferred sentencing until next month, emphasizing the importance of background checks and a comprehensive risk assessment to evaluate the potential threat he poses to the public. She also ordered that he be placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register, a measure that underscores the seriousness of his offenses.

In addition to the legal proceedings, the court called for a detailed report to be prepared, which will include a risk assessment to determine the level of danger Edgecombe might present. His social media profile indicates that he has previously worked as an IT Technician at Seconique Plc, a Technical Support Worker at HGS, and in IT Support roles for Waveney District and Suffolk Coastal District Councils. The case continues to unfold as authorities seek to understand the full extent of his activities and the potential risk to the community.