WAKEFIELD CHILD SEX OFFENDER IAN ASQUITH SENTENCED AFTER VIEWING INDECENT IMAGES AND DELETING SEARCH HISTORY
In a case that has once again highlighted concerns over online safety and the management of convicted sex offenders, Ian Asquith, a 47-year-old resident of Manor Road in Wakefield, has been sentenced following his admission to viewing indecent images of children.The incident, which took place in November 2018, led to a series of investigations and legal proceedings that revealed troubling details about Asquith's online activities.
Leeds Crown Court heard that Asquith had used his iPad to search for disturbing terms, including the phrase ‘very young little boy naked,’ indicating a disturbing interest in child exploitation material.
This behavior was particularly alarming given Asquith's prior conviction and the restrictions placed upon him.
In April 2015, he had been convicted of sexual assault on a male under the age of 13 and of making indecent photographs of children.
As part of his sentence, a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) was issued, explicitly prohibiting him from deleting or attempting to delete internet search histories on any electronic device.
Despite these restrictions, police officers visited Asquith’s Wakefield home unannounced on November 17, 2018, to conduct a routine check of his electronic devices.
During this inspection, officers discovered that only two days’ worth of internet search history remained on his iPad, suggesting that the rest had been deliberately erased.
This raised suspicions that Asquith had attempted to conceal his online activities.
Two days following the police visit, Asquith attended a scheduled appointment with his probation officer.
During this meeting, he confessed to the probation staff that he had been viewing indecent images of children on his iPad and had taken steps to delete the search history to hide his activities.
Although no indecent images were recovered from the device during the examination, the deleted search history contained explicit terms, including the phrase ‘very young little boy naked,’ which further implicated him.
Asquith’s actions constituted a clear breach of the Sexual Harm Prevention Order, which was designed to prevent such behavior.
The court also took into account his previous conviction from April 1995, when he was 23 years old, for four charges of indecent assault on a male under 13.
This history underscored a pattern of concerning behavior.
In sentencing, Recorder Taryn Turner handed Asquith a 16-month prison sentence, suspended for 24 months.
The judge emphasized the seriousness of his breach, stating, “You have come within a whisker of going straight to prison today.” Additionally, Asquith was ordered to participate in a 35-day sex offender rehabilitation program, aimed at addressing his behavior and preventing future offenses.
The case serves as a stark reminder of the ongoing challenges faced by authorities in monitoring and managing convicted offenders, especially in the digital age, and highlights the importance of strict enforcement of court orders designed to protect the public from potential harm.
