MAIDSTONE PAEDOPHILE ANDREW LESLIE WOOD JAILED FOR CHILD ABUSE IMAGES

On September 28, 2010, a disturbing case involving a convicted paedophile from Maidstone culminated in a prison sentence after he was found guilty of possessing and accessing a significant collection of indecent images and videos of children. The individual, Andrew Leslie Wood, aged 59, was arrested on October 7, 2009, during a police raid at his residence on Bell Road, Maidstone.

Following the search, officers from Kent Police’s digital forensics unit seized Wood’s computer, which was later examined in detail. The investigation uncovered a horrifying cache of digital material, totaling over 62 hours of video footage depicting child abuse. In addition to the videos, authorities discovered 30 indecent images of children stored on his device, highlighting the extent of his illicit activity.

Wood subsequently pleaded guilty to 13 charges related to the making and possession of indecent images of children. His court appearance took place at Maidstone Crown Court, where he was sentenced on Monday, September 27. During the proceedings, Wood admitted to accessing the images but attempted to justify his actions by claiming that his solitary lifestyle and alcohol consumption led him to view such material. Despite his explanations, the court imposed strict penalties.

He was ordered to register as a sex offender for a period of ten years and was issued a Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO). This order restricts him from having unsupervised contact with children and prohibits him from accessing the internet at his home without supervision, aiming to prevent further offending.

Detective Constable Mike Brown, a member of Kent Police’s Public Protection Crime Unit, expressed his disgust at the scale of Wood’s collection. He stated, “More than 62 hours of video footage is a huge and disgusting collection by anyone’s standards. Anyone who views this material clearly has no concept whatsoever of the suffering that the children go through, for the sake of the sexual pleasure of others. Wood demonstrated this when he chose to download and store such a large collection for his own sexual satisfaction.”

Detective Inspector Matthew Long of the same unit emphasized the ongoing commitment of Kent Police to combat child exploitation. He said, “Kent Police remains determined to seek out those individuals who target children in this way. We are committed to identifying offenders and bringing them before the courts.”

The investigation revealed that among the downloaded content, ten videos were classified as level five, indicating the highest level of abuse. Additionally, 76 clips were rated as level four, three as level three, 20 as level two, and 19 as level one. Concerning the images, eight were classified as level four, seven as level three, five as level two, and ten as level one, illustrating the severity and disturbing nature of the material stored by Wood.