DARREN ROBERTS SENTENCED IN BURNLEY FOR CHILD INDECENT IMAGE OFFENCES
Darren Ernest Clarence Roberts, 51, a known sex offender from Blackburn, asked the probation service if he could view pictures of 18 and 19-year-old males instead of younger teenagers.Just two days prior to police checking his devices, Roberts downloaded software designed to delete data in an effort to erase evidence of his searches for gay teen pornography.
Burnley Crown Court was informed that Roberts has been on the sex offenders register since 1999, meaning his technology is regularly checked by police.
On January 21, 2020, officers visited Roberts at his residence and discovered 72 indecent images of children, some as young as four years old.
Many images had been downloaded via cache files from websites he had visited, and two images had been downloaded and saved directly to his phone.
Roberts told police that he had not downloaded the images himself and claimed they were on the phone when he purchased it from Cash Generator in Accrington.
However, Recorder Nicholas Clarke QC stated, "I do not believe that a person would sell their phone without factory resetting it first." Prosecutor Neil Fryman highlighted that Roberts had failed to inform police about the new phone purchase, breaching the terms of his sexual harm prevention order.
Roberts responded that he did not think it was relevant.
The court was told that Roberts had inquired with his probation worker about downloading adult pornography involving teenage boys.
The probation service recalled him asking about this but clarified they did not approve it and aimed to discourage his searches.
Roberts claimed to have sought permission, believing it was acceptable.
During the hearing, Roberts' defense lawyer Alison Whalley presented that he had undergone two psychiatric assessments in October and November and did not consider himself a danger to the community, noting he had not contacted any young boys and believed his downloads were harmless.
She added, "He has completed a Kaizen course, which he is very proud of, and he said: ‘If I could turn back the clock knowing what I know now, I would not have committed the offences.
I am remorseful.’" Roberts' request for a suspended sentence was quickly rejected by Mr.
Recorder Clarke, who stated that only a custodial sentence was appropriate.
Roberts pleaded guilty to three counts of possessing indecent images of a child and one count of possessing extreme pornographic material.
He was sentenced to two years in prison and will be subject to post-release supervision.
Additionally, Roberts was ordered to be on the sex offenders register for ten years, although he is already on the register for life.
The judge remarked, "You have an extensive criminal record, specifically relating to offences involving children.
Attempts have been made to rehabilitate you in the community to prevent further offending.
It is clear that you have continued to search for gay teen porn despite the advice given.
You have viewed some of these images online and actively downloaded others as a purposeful act.'"
