BRYAN KELLY FROM HUYTON, LIVERPOOL ESCAPES JAIL AFTER SHARING CHILD RAPE IMAGES AND VANISHING FOR THREE YEARS

In a case that has shocked the local community of Huyton and the wider Liverpool area, Bryan Kelly, a 47-year-old man, was found to have engaged in the distribution of highly disturbing child abuse images, yet he narrowly avoided immediate imprisonment due to his prolonged absence from police custody.

Back in February 2021, Kelly was identified as having downloaded a staggering 360 indecent images depicting children as young as four years old. These images included some of the most severe categories of abuse, with 36 images classified as Category A, indicating acts of child rape, alongside 89 images in Category C and 235 in other categories. The severity of these images underscores the heinous nature of his offenses.

Police investigations into Kelly’s activities intensified after a raid conducted on his residence on Durban Road, Old Swan, on May 11, 2017. During this operation, officers seized three laptops, two external hard drives, and a memory stick, all of which were sent for forensic analysis. Several months later, the analysis revealed Kelly’s collection of illicit material, confirming his involvement in the possession and distribution of child abuse images.

Further details emerged during the court proceedings, revealing that Kelly had actively shared some of these images. On January 14, 2017, he used the Skype username “Chatterbox Pants” to distribute three Category A and four Category B files to an individual with the username AKelly853. Despite efforts, this recipient has not been traced. Additionally, Kelly engaged in chat room conversations where he expressed a disturbing preference for very young girls, indicating a troubling pattern of behavior.

Despite the evidence, Kelly’s whereabouts became elusive after the initial raid. Merseyside Police sought to interview him, but he failed to respond to multiple attempts to contact him. His phone number was unresponsive, and efforts to locate him at his last known address proved unsuccessful. An officer was directed to his father’s residence, where contact details were obtained, but Kelly remained out of reach. It was later revealed that Kelly had become estranged from his partner and moved to a new address in Woolfall Crescent, Huyton.

Remarkably, Kelly eventually surrendered himself to police in June 2018, walking into Kirkby Police Station. Until that point, the case had been in a state of limbo, with authorities unable to proceed due to his absence. During the court hearing, Judge Neil Flewitt, QC, questioned whether Kelly had deliberately hidden himself from law enforcement, to which the prosecution confirmed that he had not made any effort to cooperate or make himself available for questioning.

In sentencing, the judge acknowledged the limited extent of Kelly’s distribution of images and the significant passage of time since the offenses were discovered. As a result, he decided against an immediate custodial sentence. Instead, Kelly was handed a 16-month prison sentence, suspended for two years. He was also ordered to participate in the Horizon sex offenders treatment program, complete a 40-day Rehabilitation Activity Requirement, and perform 120 hours of unpaid community work. Additionally, Kelly was mandated to register as a sex offender and adhere to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for the next decade, reflecting the serious nature of his crimes and the ongoing risk to the community.