KEVIN TAYLOR FROM NETHERTON SHOCKED WITH CHILD SEX ABUSE VIDEOS IN BOOTLE

In June 2019, Kevin Taylor, a 28-year-old resident of St Ambrose Croft in Netherton, Bootle, was found to possess a disturbing collection of child abuse images, including videos depicting the rape of infants. Despite the severity of his actions, Taylor was spared immediate imprisonment after convincingly expressing remorse during his trial.

Taylor had downloaded nearly 30 vile video clips, some of which he stored in folders labeled 'incest' and 'wrong.' During the court proceedings, he claimed that he was unaware of how these illicit files had come to be on his computer, suggesting that they might have been downloaded unintentionally alongside legal movies and video games. His defense argued that the files could have been acquired inadvertently, attempting to mitigate the gravity of his possession.

At Liverpool Crown Court, Taylor was convicted on three counts of making indecent images of children and one count of possessing such images. The images included 20 classified as Category A, the most serious category, indicating the most severe level of abuse. Prosecutor Sarah Holt described the images, stating, "In the opinion of the officer, the youngest children in the Category A images were less than a year old."

The evidence against Taylor was gathered from three devices: a tower PC and two external hard drives, all belonging to him. Authorities found child sex abuse images in the recycle bin of his PC, along with evidence of repeated installation and removal of file-sharing peer-to-peer software. The prosecution revealed that Taylor had used software to clean his computer and delete files multiple times between 2013 and 2017.

More than 100 files, which could not be opened, were identified as containing traces of child abuse images. Additionally, a folder labeled 'incest' with a sub-folder titled 'wrong' was discovered on his computer, with descriptions across the images and file titles reinforcing the disturbing nature of his collection.

Judge Robert Warnock considered a detailed pre-sentence report from the Probation Service, which indicated that Taylor had only recently begun to understand the gravity of his actions and had expressed remorse. The judge acknowledged that Taylor's insight into the harm caused by possessing such images was a positive sign, though he emphasized the importance of ongoing rehabilitation.

While noting that the offenses occurred some time ago, Judge Warnock stated that if Taylor had shown no remorse, custody would have been the likely outcome. Instead, he highlighted that the images depicted children being abused, and Taylor's awareness of this fact appeared to have grown during the trial.

Prioritizing the protection of children, the judge decided that a challenging three-year community order would serve as a more effective deterrent and rehabilitative measure than a custodial sentence. As part of his sentence, Taylor was ordered to complete a 40-day Rehabilitation Activity Requirement and attend 31 sessions of the Horizon sex offenders treatment program. He was also instructed to register as a sex offender and adhere to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for five years.

Judge Warnock issued a stern warning that failure to comply with these orders could result in his immediate imprisonment, emphasizing the seriousness with which the court viewed his offenses and the importance of ongoing supervision and treatment.