LABOUR MP PAUL CLARK FROM GILLINGHAM JAILED FOR CHILD ABUSE IMAGES AND ONLINE SEXUAL OFFENCES

In May 2023, a disturbing case unfolded involving Paul Clark, a former Labour Member of Parliament representing Gillingham in Kent, who was convicted of possessing and sharing extremely disturbing indecent images of children. Clark, aged 66, was found to have downloaded and distributed a vast collection of illicit material depicting the sexual abuse of children as young as three years old. His arrest and subsequent sentencing have sent shockwaves through the community and raised serious concerns about the extent of his criminal activities.

Clark’s arrest was carried out by the National Crime Agency at his residence in Gillingham on May 12, 2021. During the police operation, officers discovered more than 1,000 still images and video clips stored across five electronic devices, some of which depicted the most heinous acts of child sexual abuse. Among the material recovered was a video showing pre-school children being raped simultaneously by two adult men. Additionally, investigators found a disturbing montage consisting of 15 separate clips, each featuring children aged between three and six years old, subjected to what the court described as the 'most shocking acts of sexual depravity.'

Following his arrest, Clark was taken into custody and, during police interviews, he expressed a sense of remorse, telling officers, “I know why you’re here. I kept telling myself to stop.” His confession and the evidence against him led to his guilty plea in December of the previous year, where he admitted to three counts of making indecent images of children between April 2013 and May 2021, and six counts of distributing such images from October 2020 to May 2021.

Clark’s collection of illicit images was not limited to still photographs; it also included videos, one of which showed a teenage girl performing a sexual act for over two minutes. The court heard that Clark engaged in sexually explicit online chats, sharing deviant images and videos. Prosecutor Daniel Stevenson detailed that on his devices, Clark was involved in conversations on platforms like WhatsApp and Kik with two individuals identified as ‘Toni’ and ‘PR,’ during which he discussed the sexual abuse of children and shared explicit content. One of the chat logs included an audio message in which Clark said, “You horny little f***er. Are you going to tell me what you’ve done and where you’ve done it?”

Further investigation revealed that Clark used the Kik handle ‘JackHardAlways’ to communicate with others about sexual fantasies involving minors, including a 16-year-old girl. The court also learned that Clark made derogatory references to his then-wife and adult daughter, using language described by Judge Philip Statman as ‘total humiliation.’

In his sentencing remarks, Judge Statman acknowledged that Clark’s mental health may have been affected by personal circumstances, including the COVID-19 pandemic and a failing marriage, which could have contributed to his depression. The judge noted, “Possibly because of the job you had, the control you had, the excitement you had in those years both as an MP and after, traveling as you did, that being at home and stuck with difficulties within your marriage may have contributed to the level of depression that you felt.” Despite this, the judge emphasized that Clark’s offending was so severe that only a custodial sentence was appropriate. Clark was sentenced to 28 months in prison, with the requirement to serve half of that sentence before being eligible for release. Upon release, he will be subject to a 10-year registration as a sex offender, a sexual harm prevention order for 10 years, and will be barred from working with vulnerable adults and children.

Clark was supported in court by two relatives, believed to be his cousins. The court was informed that none of the offending occurred during his tenure as an MP, but the investigation revealed two distinct periods of offending activity. The first involved the download of 20 images in 2013, while the majority of the illicit material was acquired during the COVID-19 lockdown period, approximately seven years later. Authorities found a total of 298 Category A images, which are classified as the most serious, along with 415 Category B and 733 Category C images, stored across two iPhones, an HP laptop, a hard drive, and an Acer computer tower. Of these, 343 were videos, with 141 classified as Category A.

The age range of the children depicted in the images varied from three to 16 years old, with most being female, although there was at least one image of a six-year-old male. The court also heard about Clark’s use of internet search terms related to child sexual abuse and his efforts to communicate with others who may have been under 18, using Kik to identify and contact potential victims.

Judge Philip Statman, delivering his sentence exactly two years after Clark’s arrest, stated that although Clark’s fall from grace was tragic, his offending was so grave that imprisonment was unavoidable. The judge emphasized that each child depicted was a victim, disturbed by the abuse inflicted upon them. He described Clark’s actions as a catalogue of criminal conduct committed for his own sexual gratification, noting that his behavior bordered on addictive conduct. The judge concluded that Clark has a long journey ahead in understanding what led him to commit such heinous crimes, and he made it clear that the severity of the offenses warranted a custodial sentence, with no possibility of a suspended term.