September 2017 Pervert jailed after downloading child abuse images – AGAIN James Whitehurst is back behind bars after downloading child abuse images soon after his release from prison for a similar offence. The 35-year-old pervert was jailed for two years in 2015 for making indecent images of children and possessing extreme pornography. He was released in July 2016 but when police went to check on him at his address in December they found more vile material on his phone. Whitehurst was locked up again before being freed on July 19. But a few weeks later police found more sickening images on a Nintendo DS. Now the defendant has been jailed for 16 months at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court. Prosecutor Emma Rutherford said: “He was visited by police at the address he was living at and he had no internet devices. “Police attended the address on December 13. He produced a telephone and a Kindle. They were seized and he was arrested. The mobile contained four accessible category C images, 171 inaccessible category C images and 53 inaccessible extreme pornographic images. “The Kindle had 27 category C images and 14 inaccessible extreme pornographic images. There were also two accessible extreme movies on the device. “He was returned to prison. He was released on July 19 and went to live at the Commercial Inn in London Road, Stoke. “An unannounced visit took place on August 9 and police found a Nintendo DS with a camera facility. He did not have permission to have these devices. He was arrested. The devices were seized. They were examined. Police found five category A images – the most serious – one at category B, 48 at category C and 20 extreme images.” Whitehurst, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to two offences of breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, four offences of making indecent images of a child and one charge of possessing an extreme pornographic image. Judge Paul Glenn placed Whitehurst on the sex offenders’ register and he will be barred from a range of activities involving children and vulnerable adults. July 2015 Pervert jailed after being caught with more than 1,000 indecent images – again Pervert James Whitehurst was caught with more than 1,000 indecent images – after police officers saw him fiddling with his phone. The 33-year-old returned to his Shelton home just as police officers had finished a search. But he aroused their suspicions by frantically tapping at his mobile and after seizing the device they discovered the illegal images. Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court heard Whitehurst had been subject to a Sexual Offences Prevention Order for previous convictions when officers raided his house on October 31 to ensure he was not re-offending. Now Whitehurst, of Snow Hill, Shelton, has been jailed for two years after pleading guilty to three offences of making indecent photographs of children and two charges of possessing extreme pornographic images. David Bennett, prosecuting, told the court: “As the police officers approached Mr Whitehurst noticed him frantically doing something with his mobile phone. “After taking the phone officers found his internet search history included terms such as ‘nude young girls’ and indecent images were discovered.” Stuart Muldoon, defending, told the court Whitehurst – who has 24 previous offences on his record – began offending after becoming curious when using legal images. He said: “It started with him viewing legitimate pornography and then moved on as it has done in the past. “He has taken steps to try to prevent himself from reoffending, including possessing a phone without access to the internet. He has now started to take a more realistic attitude towards his offending. “He is someone who is clearly addicted to pornography in many forms.” Judge David Fletcher sentenced Whitehurst to two years in prison and he was placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register for 10 years. The judge told the defendant: “These are not children who have sought to consent in any way, these are children being terribly exploited. “I’m not particularly concerned about your needs, but I’m very concerned about the victims. “You have no idea who they are and they exist all over the world to feed your sexual needs.” Whitehurst was also made the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order stopping him from living with a person under the age of 16 or having a device capable of storing images. August 2011 Pervert avoids jail for child porn offences LONER James Whitehurst has been sentenced to a community order after he downloaded indecent images of children from the internet. The 29-year-old, who has a serious heart condition, a complicated psychiatric history, and suffers from adjustment disorder, was found to have nearly 10,000 indecent images on his laptop after police went to his home on January 5. The majority of the images were stills but there were a small number of moving images, including nine at level four and four at level five – the most serious levels. Prosecutor Paul Spratt told Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court yesterday that Whitehurst was very frank with officers and said he was initially driven by curiosity but his offending carried on. Whitehurst, of Chilton Street, Heron Cross, who has no previous convictions, pleaded guilty to 10 charges of making indecent photographs of children. Carl Buckley, mitigating, said Whitehurst accepts he has a problem. He said the problem is capable of treatmentand that a doctor who has assessed Whitehurst feels the danger and risk of him re-offending will be reduced significantly if he receives treatment and supervision. Judge Simon Tonking described Whitehurst as a loner and sentenced him to a three-year community order with three years’ supervision and he must attend the sexual offenders’ treatment programme for three years. He will also be on the sex offenders’ register for five years and is barred from a range of activities involving children. Judge Tonking told Whitehurst: “It is people such as you who create the demand for these children to be abused. If there were not people who wanted to see such images they would not be made and children would not be put through that abuse.”