August 2009 Man avoids a prison sentence after downloading thousands of child abuse images David Picken had 7,673 photographs and 31 videos stored on a computer, hard drive and two discs found at his Biddulph home. Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court was told police raided Picken’s Knowle Road house last year. Jonathan Veasey-Pugh, prosecuting, said: “When the defendant was seen he said ‘I’m going to prison’. “More than 90 per cent of the children were under 10, and a significant proportion contained images of babies.” Picken had previously pleaded guilty to 24 charges of making indecent photographs and movies of a child and one offence of distributing an indecent photograph of a child. The court heard 56 images and one video were level five, the most serious level. Alison Downs, defending, said: “It’s very clear there is genuine remorse here. There was a sad cycle in his personal life.” Judge Paul Glenn said he would not send Picken to jail because he had already been in custody for 89 days and would be released soon. Instead, he imposed a three-year community order, with a three-year supervision requirement. He must take part in the community sex offenders’ group work programme and is banned from working with children. Judge Glenn also imposed an indefinite sexual offences prevention order and instructed Picken to pay £4,120 legal costs.