RICHARD FRY FROM ST ALBANS AND STEVENAGE CAUGHT WITH NEARLY 170,000 CHILD ABUSE IMAGES AND MOVIES

In a disturbing case that has shocked the local communities of Stevenage and St Albans, Richard Fry, a 57-year-old man, has been found in possession of an alarming quantity of illegal child abuse material. Fry, who resides on Mercers Row in St Albans and was previously living on Holly Leys in Stevenage, has admitted to possessing nearly 170,000 images and movies depicting child abuse.

Fry appeared before Stevenage magistrates on a recent Wednesday, where he pleaded guilty to multiple charges related to the possession of indecent images of children. The charges include three counts of possessing such images, along with an additional count of possessing a prohibited image of a child, which is considered among the most explicit forms of illegal material.

The court proceedings revealed that on May 31 of the previous year, Fry was found in Stevenage with a prohibited image of a child, which is classified as the most explicit category of such material. Alongside this, he was found in possession of four films categorized as ‘Category A’ indecent images, which are deemed the most severe.

Furthermore, the police uncovered that Fry had in his possession 37 movies and 125 images classified as ‘Category B’ child pornography. The most extensive collection was found to include 4,059 movies and a staggering 161,959 images categorized as ‘Category C,’ which are considered less severe but still illegal.

The magistrates’ bench, chaired by Vivien Marshall, decided to defer sentencing to a higher court. Fry’s case has been committed to the Crown Court for a sentencing hearing scheduled for next month. Fry has been granted bail but is under strict conditions, including a ban on acquiring any software capable of deleting or encrypting internet history, and a prohibition from accessing online pornography.

Additionally, Fry is not allowed to have unsupervised contact with children under the age of 16 unless the child's parent or guardian is fully aware of the case and provides explicit consent. The court’s measures aim to prevent any further risk or harm while the legal process continues, with Fry scheduled to appear at Cambridge Crown Court on March 22 for sentencing.