STEPHEN LEE FROM CLECKHEATON SENTENCED FOR REPEATED OFFENSES INVOLVING CHILD AND ANIMAL PORNOGRAPHY AT BRADFORD CROWN COURT

In November 2020, Stephen Lee, a 47-year-old resident of Bradford Road in Cleckheaton, was handed an 18-month prison sentence after being found in possession of a disturbing collection of illegal images, including hundreds of child abuse pictures and extreme animal pornography. This case highlights a troubling pattern of offending that has persisted over several years, with Lee having a history of similar crimes and legal sanctions.

Lee’s criminal record reveals prior convictions for similar offenses, including a prison term in 2015 and a community order issued two years earlier, both related to the possession and distribution of indecent images. Despite these previous penalties, Lee continued to engage in illegal activities, which ultimately led to his recent conviction. The court was informed that Lee had also violated a sexual harm prevention order issued five years prior, an order designed specifically to prevent him from reoffending in similar ways.

During the hearing at Bradford Crown Court, it was disclosed that Lee appeared via videolink, as he had already been recalled to prison to serve the remainder of a three-year sentence handed down in January 2019. The timeline of the offenses stretches back to 2018, with authorities uncovering a significant cache of illicit material on his laptop in June of that year. Among the disturbing content were 73 extreme pornographic images and videos involving a person and a horse, classified as both still and moving images.

Further investigations in November revealed an even more alarming collection of images. Police found 80 indecent images of children at the most serious level, categorized as Category A. Additionally, there were 72 images classified as Category B, and 81 other still and moving images falling under Category C. The authorities also discovered two extremely graphic images depicting a person performing sexual acts on a live or dead animal, adding to the severity of the case.

Bradford Crown Court was told that the police had contacted Lee in June 2018 as part of a routine review of his sexual harm prevention order. During this review, they examined his laptop and found the initial set of illegal images and videos. Lee claimed that he had been attempting to download music at the time and had inadvertently encountered the extreme content. However, his claims did little to mitigate the seriousness of his actions.

In November, Lee was arrested at his wife’s residence in Bradford for an unrelated matter. During the arrest, he threw his mobile phone into a bin at the house. His wife later discovered the device and contacted the police, leading to the discovery of additional indecent images stored on the phone. The police investigation confirmed that Lee had continued his illegal activities despite previous convictions and orders.

Legal representative Abigail Langford argued that these offenses predated Lee’s 2019 imprisonment and pointed out that there had been a significant delay in bringing the case to court. She also noted that Lee had sought help from the Lucy Faithfull Foundation, a charity dedicated to preventing child sexual abuse, and had requested medication from his general practitioner that could potentially mitigate his urges, citing its side effects as beneficial given his offending history.

Judge Jonathan Gibson sentenced Lee to a total of 18 months in prison. In his remarks, the judge acknowledged that Lee had made some efforts to address his serious problem, but emphasized the importance of safeguarding the public. As part of the sentence, the court extended the existing ten-year sexual harm prevention order and ordered that all devices used by Lee to access illegal content be confiscated and destroyed, aiming to prevent further offenses in the future.