April 2010 Pervert jailed over sick picture stash PAEDOPHILE Simon Pratt has been jailed for 18 months after more than 125,000 indecent images of children were found on his computers. The 44-year-old, who has a previous conviction for a similar offence, lived at an address in Earls Road, Trentham, between June 2007 and June 2008 before he was admitted to Harplands Hospital. But he left his computer at the house while in hospital and it was used by someone else who lived there. She died not find any indecent images of children on the computer. But towards the end of July 2008 another person at the address became aware Pratt had been charged with downloading or making indecent images of children at an internet cafe in Snow Hill, Shelton. The police were contacted and the defendant’s computers were handed in to the police on August 1, 2008. Officers examined Pratt’s desktop computer and his laptop. Prosecutor David Bennett told Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court yesterday that the desktop computer had two hard drives. On the first they found 12,647 still images and 12 moving images at level one, six at level two, 16 at level three and four at level four. The second hard drive had 934 still images at level one, one at level three, six at level four and three at level five – the most serious. The laptop had 89,202 still images and 45 moving images at level one, 4,587 stills and 40 moving images at level two, 7,014 stills and 35 moving images at level three, 10,319 stills and 170 moving images at level four and 992 stills and eight moving images at level five. Mr Bennett said most of the images were not accessible, but 1,330 indecent images and 237 moving images were. He said 125,721 images were found in total. He added: “The defendant had been sharing indecent images of children with others.” Pratt pleaded guilty to 10 offences of making indecent photos of children between January 2006 and June 2008, distributing indecent photos of children and possessing indecent photos of a child. Andrew Baker, defending, said Pratt disagrees with the number of images retrieved and added that a large number of images were duplicates. He said the defendant made a comprehensive effort to delete the images and there is no evidence he tried to retrieve them. “It shows a change of heart about the behaviour, which is absolutely abhorrent,” said Mr Baker. As well as the jail sentence, Judge Paul Glenn placed Pratt on the sex offenders’ register for 10 years, banned him from working with children and vulnerable adults and made him the subject of a Sexual Offences Prohibition Order (SOPO) indefinitely. This, among other things, prevents him owning any device capable of accessing the internet. Judge Glenn told Pratt: “I am satisfied you derived sexual pleasure from it. “It appears you are attracted to boys and girls and women. “These are real children being abused. You are sex offender and a paedophile.”