July 2015 Stoke-on-Trent senior scout leader caught with 11,000 indecent images of children ONE of Stoke-on-Trent’s most senior Scout leaders has resigned after being caught with more than 11,000 indecent images of children. Former teacher Brian Billington’s reputation is today in tatters after he was placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register. The 71-year-old assistant commissioner for Stoke-on-Trent District Scouts had been held in ‘great esteem’ until his arrest when police discovered the ‘vile’ pictures on a computer at his home in Blurton. Billington’s hoard of 11,019 images included 82 ranked as category A – the most serious – in a span of offending that covered more than six years. Now the Scout Association has condemned Billington’s actions as he was sentenced to a three-year community order at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court. The retired school teacher downloaded the images between September 2007 and November 2013. Now Billington, who has no previous convictions, has been handed a community order at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court. Prosecutor Joanne Wallbanks said police executed a search warrant at the defendant’s home on November 15, 2013. She added that searches on his computer suggested an interest in young boys. The defendant, of Fieldway, Blurton, pleaded guilty to six charges of making indecent images of children. Judge David Fletcher sentenced Billington to a three-year community order with a requirement to complete the internet sexual offences treatment programme. He was also placed on the sex offenders’ register for five years and made the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for the same period. And he was ordered to pay £1,200 costs.