April 2010 Lottery winner ‘used cash to fund paedophile ring’ A CHILD sex offender who won a £50,000 National Lottery jackpot was jailed yesterday after detectives told how he was at the centre of a paedophile ring which distributed indecent images of children. Carl Gardner, 30, from Coleburn Road in Norwich, was given a prison sentence of three years and four months by Judge Simon Barham after admitting possessing and making indecent images of children, plus possessing “extreme” adult pornography. The judge also made an order banning Gardner from working with children, having children at his home and from possessing a computer or mobile phone. Police said Gardner – who had previous convictions for possessing child pornography – won his lottery prize three years ago and investigators suspect that he used some of the cash to buy mobile phones and computer equipment. Michael Clare, for Gardner, told the court: “He lost control of his life when he won £50,000 on the lottery.” He was caught after a chatroom website told police about child abuse content. Prosecutor Malcolm Robbins said Gardner was a registered sex offender who had one caution for an offence. He was also given a community order in 2006 for making indecent images. He was arrested in July 2009 and detectives discovered more than 170 indecent images on computers and mobile phones.