PETER DANIELS SHOCKING CRIMES IN BRANSHOLME AND HULL: CHILD ABUSE AND INDECENT IMAGES REVEALED

In November 2014, Peter Daniels, a 58-year-old man from New George Street in Hull city centre, was involved in a series of disturbing criminal activities that highlighted his ongoing predatory behavior and possession of indecent images of minors. His actions, which spanned over several years, included viewing and possessing child exploitation material, as well as engaging in sexual misconduct involving vulnerable youths in public spaces.

One of the most alarming incidents occurred in June 2014 at Hull's Central Library located on Albion Street. Daniels, who had a prior conviction for abusing a schoolboy in a shopping centre toilet, was observed by undercover police officers while using a computer in the Learning Zone on the second floor. At approximately 9:36 a.m. on June 11, Daniels logged into his Twitter account and began scrolling through numerous indecent images depicting boys and young men. The images ranged in age from 15 to 18, with one particularly serious Category A image of a 15-year-old boy. Further analysis of his Twitter account uncovered additional images—14 at Category B and nine at Category C—indicating a pattern of ongoing viewing of illegal material.

Daniels' criminal record included a previous six-month jail sentence for making indecent photographs of children. At the time of the library incident, he was under a three-year community order following his conviction last year for abusing a 15-year-old boy. The court heard that Daniels had met the boy, a stranger, at Paragon Interchange and initiated contact by offering him a cigarette. The encounter escalated when Daniels accompanied the youth into a toilet at St Stephen’s shopping centre, where he admitted to engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a minor.

During police interviews, Daniels claimed that he had gone into the library to make a loan application. He also stated that he received an email titled “people you may know,” which led to the appearance of an image he found disturbing and knew was wrong. He further explained that additional images appeared when he attempted to close the initial one. His defense argued that Daniels had recently admitted to his problematic interest in viewing indecent images, and his solicitor, Patricia Doherty, emphasized that at 58, he was beginning to come to terms with this issue.

Despite these defenses, Judge David Tremberg expressed his disappointment, stating that Daniels had been given a “golden opportunity” to address his offending through the community order. However, the judge noted that Daniels continued to indulge his sexual interests by viewing illegal images, which demonstrated a persistent pattern of offending. Consequently, Daniels was sentenced to 12 months in prison and was subject to a ten-year sexual offences prevention order.

Additional context reveals that Daniels’ criminal history includes a 2013 incident where he approached a 13-year-old boy with learning difficulties at Paragon Interchange. Daniels took the boy to a toilet at St Stephen’s shopping centre, where he exposed himself and engaged in inappropriate conduct. The boy later reported the incident, leading to Daniels’ arrest after police reviewed CCTV footage. During police interviews, Daniels refused to comment but later pleaded guilty to engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child. The court considered his mental health and social isolation, opting for a community order with supervision and participation in a sex offender treatment program, rather than immediate imprisonment.

Further back, in November 2011, Daniels was convicted of possessing over 600 indecent images of children. The images, which included videos and photographs of children aged between 8 and 15, were seized from his home in Bransholme after police acted on intelligence from the Child Online Protection Centre in London. Daniels, who had previously run a Methodist church toddler group, admitted to viewing these images but could not explain his motives. He was sentenced to six months in jail and received a five-year sexual offences prevention order, which prohibited him from living with or having unsupervised contact with anyone under 16. He was also required to register as a sex offender for seven years.

Throughout these incidents, authorities emphasized their commitment to combating online child exploitation and ensuring offenders like Daniels are held accountable. Detective Constable Gregg Anderson highlighted ongoing efforts to work with agencies to track and prosecute individuals who use the internet to facilitate sexual offenses against minors, underscoring the seriousness with which such crimes are treated by the justice system.