JOHN OLDROYD FROM HAMBLE-LE-RICE AVOIDS JAIL AFTER DOWNLOADING OVER A THOUSAND INDECENT CHILD IMAGES
A former Royal Marine has escaped prison after admitting to downloading more than 1,000 indecent images of children.John Oldroyd, 54, of Yorke Way in Hamble-le-Rice, committed this offence over a period of seven years.
The police raided his residence after receiving a tip-off from a service provider.
During the search, officers discovered numerous indecent images on his devices, including 95 files classified as Category A—the most severe category—along with 112 Category B images and 845 Category C images.
Oldroyd appeared at Southampton Crown Court and faced three counts of making indecent photographs of a child.
He pleaded guilty to these charges, which related to offences committed between 2013 and 2020.
Prosecutor James Kellam revealed that the images were sourced from a notorious website but refused to identify it.
He also requested that Oldroyd’s two computers be destroyed, emphasizing the importance of disposing of the hard drives.
Defence lawyer Laura Hollingberry stated that Oldroyd is acutely aware of the damaging effects his actions have on child victims.
She added that since his arrest two years ago, he has sought help from a psychotherapist and described the past two years as the most difficult period of his life.
Described as a charitable individual, Oldroyd works at a boat and yacht maintenance yard and volunteers unpaid for various charities.
The court’s Recorder, Mr.
Don Tait, told Oldroyd: “I'm sure if you didn’t realize it before, you do now.
This sort of offence is by no means victimless.” He noted that Oldroyd had cooperated with authorities once the images came to light, surrendering his devices to police.
As part of his sentence, Oldroyd was given an 18-month community order with up to 40 days of rehabilitative activities.
Additionally, he was issued a five-year sexual harm protection order to restrict his future conduct.
