PHILLIP THOMPSON BURNS PHONE TO AVOID CHILD IMAGE DISCOVERY IN NEWTON ABBOT
In a disturbing incident that took place in Newton Abbot, a convicted sex offender named Phillip Thompson took drastic measures to conceal illegal material on his mobile device.The incident occurred in February 2019, during a routine visit by child protection officers who were monitoring Thompson due to his status on the sex offenders’ register and his history of accessing child abuse material online.
During the visit, an officer noticed a suspicious search term in the browsing history of Thompson’s phone.
The officers were conducting a standard check, given Thompson’s prior offenses and the conditions of his Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SHPO).
However, before the female officer could investigate further, Thompson acted swiftly and impulsively.
He grabbed his phone and hurled it into a wood-burning stove, where it was completely destroyed, erasing any potential evidence that might have been on the device.
Thompson, aged 60 and residing on Sandringham Road in Newton Abbot, was legally required to surrender his phone as part of the conditions set by his SHPO.
This order was imposed following his attendance at a sex offenders’ course at Exeter Crown Court in August 2017.
The destruction of the phone was a clear breach of this legal obligation.
Subsequently, Thompson admitted to breaching the terms of his SHPO when he appeared before Exeter Crown Court.
Judge Peter Johnson sentenced him to six months in prison, emphasizing the seriousness of his actions.
The judge remarked, “When the officer visited your house at lunchtime, she queried one of the search terms on your phone, and you grabbed it and ultimately threw it into the stove.
There is an obvious inference as to why you did that.
This was a serious and deliberate breach of the order.” Prosecutor Mr.
Brian Fitzherbert explained that although Thompson’s previous community order from 2017 had just ended, his police offender manager continued to conduct regular visits to his residence.
The incident in question took place on February 19, 2019, when the officer observed the search term ‘9-11’ in the browsing history.
This raised suspicions that Thompson might have been downloading or viewing child images, prompting the officer’s intervention.
Thompson later told police that he had been accessing adult pornography, but a pop-up link had directed him to a site containing both child images and extreme pornography.
He also claimed that he had received threats from Russia demanding money in exchange for not exposing him.
However, because the phone was destroyed, these claims could not be verified or disproved.
Defense lawyer Mr.
Jeff Segan argued that Thompson had benefited from the sex offenders’ course and was making efforts to turn his life around.
He expressed concern about Thompson’s well-being, stating that his primary focus was his two dogs and that he was worried about their future if he were to be imprisoned.
It is also noted that in an earlier case, Thompson was found with 72 images on his phone, all classified at the lowest level, showing sexual posing rather than explicit sexual activity.
This history underscores the ongoing issues related to his conduct and the importance of strict supervision and legal compliance.
