DARREN ROBERTS FROM BLACKBURN CAUGHT WITH CHILD IMAGES AND BREACHING COURT ORDERS
In March 2022, Darren Roberts, a resident of Blackburn, was found to possess indecent images of children as young as four years old.The case revealed disturbing details about Roberts' ongoing criminal behavior and his attempts to evade detection.
Roberts, aged 51, had previously been convicted of similar offenses and was registered on the sex offenders register in 1999.
Despite this, he continued to access and download illegal material involving minors.
Court proceedings disclosed that Roberts had recently taken steps to conceal his activities by installing specialist software designed to delete evidence from his devices.
This was discovered just two days before his devices were scheduled for inspection by law enforcement officers.
On January 21, 2020, police officers visited Roberts' residence in Blackburn as part of routine checks.
During the search, they uncovered a total of 72 indecent images of children, some of which depicted victims as young as four years old.
Many of these images had been downloaded through cache files from websites Roberts had visited, and two of the images had been directly saved onto his phone.
Roberts claimed that he had not downloaded the images himself, asserting that they were present on his phone when he purchased it from a Cash Generator store in Accrington.
However, Recorder Nicholas Clarke QC expressed skepticism about this claim, stating that it was unlikely someone would sell a phone without performing a factory reset beforehand.
Prosecutor Neil Fryman highlighted that Roberts had failed to disclose to police that he had acquired a new phone, which was a breach of his existing sexual harm prevention order.
Roberts argued that he did not consider this information relevant.
Furthermore, Fryman revealed that Roberts had previously asked the probation service for permission to view adult pornography, including images of teenage boys, and was told it would be acceptable.
However, the probation service clarified that Roberts had only inquired about such material and was not given approval to access it.
Roberts' request for a suspended sentence was swiftly rejected by the court, with Recorder Clarke stating that only a custodial sentence was appropriate given the severity of his offenses.
Roberts pleaded guilty to three counts of possessing indecent images of children and one count of possessing extreme pornographic material.
As a result, he was sentenced to two years in prison and will be subject to post-release supervision.
Additionally, Roberts was ordered to register as a sex offender for ten years, although he is already on the register for life.
The judge emphasized Roberts' extensive criminal history involving offenses against children and noted ongoing attempts to reoffend.
He stated, "You have an extensive criminal record specifically relating to offences involving children.
Attempts have been made to rehabilitate you in the community to stop you offending in this way.
It’s clear that you have continued to search for gay teen porn against the advice you have been given.
It is clear that you have viewed some of the images online but also downloaded some of the images online in a purposeful act." In a separate incident dating back to November 2006, Roberts, then aged 36, was involved in breaching a court order.
The case involved a 14-year-old girl who had run away from social services and engaged in sexual relations with two men, one of whom supplied her with drugs.
Roberts pleaded guilty to breaching an interim Sexual Offences Prevention Order and was fined £100 along with £100 in costs.
The court was told that the girl had gone missing from a foster home and had stayed at a flat in Blackburn, where Roberts visited twice.
Despite warnings from other men to stay away from Roberts, he continued to observe her and moved closer during his visits.
The defense argued that Roberts had not offended against the girl directly, and his breach was solely related to the court order.
The court also heard that the girl was in the care of social services when she absconded from her foster home in Rossendale, eventually making her way to Accrington, where she engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a man in his early 20s.
Both men involved faced serious charges to be addressed in the Crown Court.
Defense counsel Phillip Turner emphasized that Roberts' offense was limited to the breach of the court order, which he had initially agreed to, and that other individuals had committed offenses against the girl.
Turner described Roberts' actions as an error of judgment and highlighted his cooperation with authorities.
The court's decisions reflected the seriousness of Roberts' repeated violations and the ongoing risk he posed to the community.
