FAREHAM PAEDOPHILE IAN WRAITH SENTENCED FOR MASSIVE INDECENT IMAGE COLLECTION AND ONLINE ABUSE

In October 2015, Ian Wraith, a 66-year-old resident of Fareham, was brought to justice after a detailed investigation uncovered his involvement in the distribution and possession of an enormous collection of indecent images of children. The authorities discovered that Wraith had amassed a collection of millions of such images, stored across multiple high-capacity storage devices, including a laptop and three external hard drives. The sheer volume of material was so vast that it surpassed the size of the Hampshire police’s own database, highlighting the extent of his illicit activities.

Prosecutor Kerry Maylin explained during the court proceedings that Wraith’s collection was so extensive that officers remarked he had every single indecent image possibly in existence, and he even suggested that a national database could be constructed from his collection. This statement underscored the magnitude of his illicit holdings, which were significantly larger than any official database maintained by law enforcement agencies.

The investigation revealed that Wraith was not merely a collector but also an active participant in a disturbing online community. He was a paying member of a subscription-based website that offered access to child abuse images. Wraith was appointed as an administrator by the site’s creator, a role that involved managing the access of its 943 members and overseeing the dissemination of illegal content. Court records indicated that Wraith made over 3,400 posts on this website, some of which received numerous acknowledgments, including 953 thank-yous for a particular post. These posts, made in September 2014, contained images of children approximately eight or nine years old, with comments from other members describing the content as “the best pictures I have ever seen.”

Police investigations revealed that Wraith’s online activities were relentless. After his retirement, just a month before his arrest, he reportedly spent his days waking at 6 a.m. and remaining at his computer until midnight, sharing and viewing perverted images. The authorities found that he used the alias “Sandra” on the website and had been active since December 24, 2010. His criminal activity was ultimately uncovered when he used his real name and credit card details to purchase videos from another website between July 2009 and July 2010, paying approximately £80. This transaction led to Canadian police tracking his activity and passing the case to the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP), which then alerted Hampshire Constabulary.

When officers visited Wraith’s home on October 7 of the previous year, they discovered 38 DVDs he had burned, with suggestive titles derived from downloaded files related to the Canadian investigation. Wraith made disturbing comments during police interviews, claiming he did not believe some images were indecent, asserting that most children in the images appeared happy and were touching themselves, implying they were willing participants. He further stated, “you wouldn’t believe what these kids get up to when they’re on their own with a camera,” and claimed that children in downloaded movies from the Canadian case were merely playing, not being harmed.

Despite admitting to being the administrator of the website and using other file-sharing platforms, Wraith’s criminal behavior did not cease after his arrest. While on bail, he used his wife’s laptop, instructing her to log in for him under the pretense of shopping on Amazon and eBay. However, he continued viewing indecent images, which led to his re-arrest in February. During police interviews, Wraith admitted that he had been viewing indecent images of children since the advent of the internet and that prior to the internet, he purchased videos of children wherever he could find them. He also claimed that he smuggled VHS tapes of boys into the country approximately 25 years earlier, though he was acquitted of charges related to those tapes after asserting he did not know their contents. Nonetheless, in a pre-sentence report, he admitted to knowing exactly what was contained in the tapes.

The investigation uncovered that Wraith’s collection included approximately 1.6 million images, with police estimating that around 1.2 million of these were indecent. The collection also contained 833 movies, of which 603 were classified as indecent. Wraith’s online activities extended over several years, and he was identified as having been involved in the distribution and creation of indecent images over a period spanning from December 24, 2010, to October 8, 2014.

Wraith pleaded guilty to 32 charges, including conspiracy to distribute indecent images, multiple counts of distributing and making indecent images, and possession of indecent images. The charges ranged from Category C to the most severe Category A images. During the trial, his defense argued that he had cooperated with police, providing access to the site he managed, which helped authorities apprehend other offenders. His lawyer described his actions as stemming from an addiction that developed over years, especially after his retirement.

Judge Ian Pearson sentenced Wraith to four years and four months in prison. In his remarks, the judge emphasized the severity of Wraith’s actions, stating that his activities fueled the trade of child abuse images, some involving infants and very young children subjected to horrific abuse. The judge highlighted the profound impact on victims and expressed concern that Wraith remained in denial about the seriousness of his crimes. As part of his sentence, Wraith was ordered to register as a sex offender for life and was subject to a lifelong sexual harm prevention order, which prohibits him from using any computer equipment.