DANIEL JOHNSON FROM PORTSMOUTH CAUGHT WITH CHILD ABUSE IMAGES AFTER POLICE RAID IN NORTH END GROVE

In October 2018, a disturbing case emerged involving Daniel Johnson, a resident of Portsmouth, who was found to possess over 150 images depicting child abuse on his personal computer. The incident unfolded after law enforcement officers conducted a raid on Johnson's family home located in North End Grove, Portsmouth.

During the police search, authorities discovered a significant collection of illicit material stored on Johnson's computer. Further investigation revealed that Johnson had been actively communicating via Skype with an individual he met in an online chat room. The two exchanged messages, each encouraging the other to send abusive images of children. However, neither party actually sent any images during their conversations.

Despite the lack of exchanged images, analysis of Johnson's online activity uncovered that he had been searching for child abuse images on the internet. Prosecutor Matthew Lawson explained that the search terms used by Johnson on the day in question were specifically related to images of children aged between six and twelve. The search also included explicit content involving oral rape of children within the age range of eight to twelve.

Lawson further detailed that the police categorised the images found on Johnson's device into different levels of severity. A total of 51 images were classified as Category A, indicating the most severe and disturbing content. Additionally, there were 38 images in Category B and 73 in Category C, reflecting varying degrees of explicitness and harm.

Initially, Johnson denied all charges in court, claiming he had not downloaded or saved any of the images, asserting that he had merely viewed them online. However, he later pleaded guilty to three charges of making indecent images. In his own words, Johnson stated, “I looked at them online, I did not save or download them.”

Despite his guilty plea, it was revealed during sentencing that Johnson had denied the allegations to a probation officer just days after admitting guilt. His legal representative argued that Johnson was 'out of sorts' and 'very confused' at the time of the incident, which occurred on September 23, 2016. The court heard that Johnson had returned from Australia in July 2015 after suffering a broken arm and had subsequently become socially isolated.

Not all of the images found on his device were immediately accessible, the court was told. Family members, who were present during the proceedings and shook Johnson’s hand after he was sentenced, provided character references supporting him.

In sentencing, Judge Timothy Mousley QC imposed a 46-week prison sentence, suspended for 18 months. Johnson was also ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work, attend 35 days of rehabilitation, and register as a sex offender for the next ten years. Additionally, an order was made to restrict his internet access for a decade to prevent further offending.