JOHN FLOATER'S HORRIFIC CHILD PORNOGRAPHY CRIME IN HULL REVEALED
A man from Hull, identified as John Floater, has been found guilty of possessing and attempting to conceal a vast collection of illegal and highly disturbing images of children.The investigation uncovered that Floater, a worker at a pig farm, had been engaged in this heinous activity for over 14 years, during which he accessed and stored numerous indecent images of minors.
According to court proceedings, police arrived at Floater’s residence on October 4, 2022, armed with a search warrant following intelligence received on May 30, 2022, about an online account linked to him suspected of uploading child abuse images.
As officers entered his home in White Horse Lane, Ottringham, near Withernsea, Floater attempted a hurried escape upstairs, aiming to shut down his laptop in a bid to hide his illicit activities.
Despite his efforts, the police managed to follow him and observed his open laptop on his bed, displaying a webpage featuring a pre-teen individual, confirming his involvement in ongoing illegal activity.
Floater, aged 57, was visibly distressed and claimed to be unskilled with computers, asserting he was unaware that the images he accessed were illegal.
Nevertheless, the police found multiple devices—four in total—containing a total of 788 images and videos, many of which fell into the most severe Category A classification.
These included 135 still images and 26 videos in Category A, 155 still images and 19 videos in Category B, and 395 still images along with one video in Category C.
The content was deeply disturbing, involving young children aged between three months and six years, with some images depicting infants as young as three to six months old.
The material also included searches related to young models and bestiality, highlighting the extent of Floater’s disturbing interests.
During police interviews, Floater maintained that he was not very proficient with computers and denied any sexual interest in children.
He claimed ignorance of the illegality of the images he viewed and stored.
However, the evidence presented in court painted a different picture, revealing that Floater had been actively involved in this perverted activity for more than a decade.
Prosecutor Curtis Dunkley emphasized that all the images had been accessed online and stored on Floater’s devices, although they were not immediately accessible at the time of seizure.
Judge Sam Green KC, presiding over the case, condemned Floater’s actions, describing his behavior as a long-standing and serial pattern of perversion.
The judge pointed out that Floater had attempted to conceal his activities by trying to shut down his laptop and hide his tracks, but his efforts failed.
The court heard that Floater’s conduct involved deliberate hunting for obscene images of children, some involving extreme pornography and bestiality, over an extended period of more than 14 years.
In sentencing, Floater was handed a prison term of 20 months.
Additionally, he was subjected to a 10-year sexual harm prevention order and was ordered to register as a sex offender for the same duration.
The court’s verdict underscores the severity of his crimes and the importance of ongoing monitoring to prevent further harm.
