ROGER SMITH FROM BLACKPOOL AND WALNEY ADMITS CHILD SEX ABUSE IMAGE OFFENCES IN PRESTON

In a significant development at Preston Crown Court, Roger Alan Smith, a 66-year-old man with ties to both Walney and Blackpool, has admitted to multiple serious charges related to the possession and distribution of indecent images of children. The offences span a period of over a year and a half, from October 2015 to February 2017, and involve disturbing acts of child exploitation that have now come to light through the legal proceedings.

Smith's criminal activities came to the forefront when he was charged with eight separate offences concerning indecent images of children. These charges include two counts of sharing such images with others, two counts of publishing obscene material related to the sexual abuse of minors, and one count of attempting to obtain an indecent image from another individual. Additionally, he faced charges for creating multiple categories of indecent images: 18 images classified as Category A, which is considered the most severe, along with seven images categorized as B and five as C. The categorization of these images reflects the level of severity, with Category A depicting the most explicit and abusive content.

During the court proceedings, Smith pleaded guilty to all charges. His admissions include distributing an indecent image of a child, publishing obscene articles concerning child sexual abuse, attempting to acquire such images, and creating a total of 30 indecent images across the different categories. The offences all took place within the town of Barrow, where Smith was residing at the time, over a span of nearly two years.

It is noteworthy that Smith's criminal history predates these offences. In 2012, he was living on Portsmouth Street in Walney when he pleaded guilty to possessing 17 images depicting extreme pornographic acts involving animals. For this earlier conviction, he was sentenced to community service. Currently, Smith resides in Inver Road, Blackpool, and his sentencing hearing is scheduled for January 26 at Preston Crown Court, where the full extent of his punishment will be determined.