DAVE RICHARDS OF CEFN MAWR SENTENCED FOR CHILD INDECENT IMAGES IN MOLD
A retired Army Sergeant Major, Dave Richards of High Street in Cefn Mawr, has been sentenced to prison after police discovered a large collection of indecent images of children on his electronic devices.Richards, aged 63, appeared at Mold Crown Court on Thursday for sentencing after earlier being convicted of creating indecent images of children across categories A, B, and C over a span of 12 years.
Prosecutor Martyn Walsh explained that the National Crime Agency was alerted when a social media account linked to Richards posted an indecent image online.
When authorities visited his home in April last year, Richards directed officers to a laptop in his living room and another device he had deliberately smashed and discarded in a basement bin bag.
In total, three laptops were seized, revealing internet activity involving child sexual abuse material and images.
Judge Rhys Rowlands noted the sheer volume of images found, stating, "There had been so many images on the devices that police stopped categorising them." Of the images that were classified, there were 242 still images and 26 videos at Category A, 215 still images and 10 videos at Category B, and 721 still images with eight videos at Category C.
Additionally, over 110,000 further images were found but not fully examined; some of these depicted sexual activity, based on samples examined.
Defence counsel Henry Hills told the court, "He has exhibited genuine remorse and has been receiving ongoing therapy.
He is a man with an impressive work record, having served 24 years in the British Army and reaching the rank of Sergeant Major.
Afterward, he worked as a telecommunications engineer for 22 years before retiring about a year ago.
He has always been a dedicated family man." Hills added that Richards had sought psychotherapy to address a sex addiction and claimed he has turned his life around.
Judge Rowlands described Richards' behaviour as "perverted" and emphasized the seriousness of the offences: "This is a matter I have considered with care.
The scale of your offending—the number of images and the length of time you have been accessing them—it leaves me with no choice but to impose a custodial sentence.
This is far more serious than a minor infraction and not on the cusp of a non-custodial outcome." The judge sentenced Richards to 10 months in prison for the Category A images to reflect his overall criminal conduct.
No separate penalties were handed down for the other offenses.
Richards is also required to register as a sex offender for ten years and is subject to a sexual harm prevention order for the same period.
