July 2016 Crash survivor trawled internet for child sex films A former fast food shop manager from Dawlish has been sent on a sex offenders’ course after he trawled the internet for images of child rape. Samuel Walford used search terms including ‘Lolita’ and ‘under-age sex’ and was caught with 25 movies on his laptop and tablet. He found some of the images on music file-sharing sites and his collection included a 22-minute film of a girl of about nine being repeatedly raped by an adult. The movie was branded as being ‘particularly disturbing’ by a judge as he ordered Walford to take part in group therapy work to address his sexual interest in children. Walford is a former fast food shop management trainee who was said to have come back from the dead when he survived an horrific motorcycle accident in Blagdon, near Newton Abbot in 2010. He helped raise money for the Devon Air Ambulance and hoped to train as a doctor after the crash but is now unemployed and living on disability living allowance because of the injuries he suffered. Walford, aged 25, of North Lodge Drive, Dawlish, admitted four counts of making indecent images of children and was ordered to attend the Internet Sex Offenders’ Treatment Programme as part of a three-year community order by Recorder Mr Paul Dunkels, QC, at Exeter Crown Court. He told him: ‘The details of some of the moving images outlined in this case are particularly disturbing but I take the view that a community order is a proper alternative to custody. ‘I have regard to a number of mitigating factors. The offences cover a range of times including when you were in your late teens and early 20s, when you were lacking maturity.” Miss Janice Eagles, prosecuting, said police executed a warrant at Walford’s home in July 2015 and found a total of 25 movies on two devices. He told police some of the images had come from the music sharing site Ares and an examination of his computed showed the use of search terms including PTHC, which stands for ‘pre-teen hard core’. He also searched for ’young teens, aged 11 or 12’ and ’Lolita’. He told police he was naive and did not know what PTHC stood for. All but four of the movies were in the worst category A which shows adults having sex with children. They included boys and girls aged from about eight to 15. Miss Eagles said: ‘One of the movies lasted for 22 minutes and 23 seconds and showed a female child aged eight to ten being raped by an older male for the duration of the movie clip.’ July 2016 Dawlish man faces jail sentence after admitting downloading child abuse movies A man from Dawlish has admitted downloading child abuse movies from the internet. Stephen Walford, aged 25, of North Lodge Close, Dawlish, admitted four counts of making indecent images of children when he appeared at Exeter Crown Court. He pleaded guilty to making movies at all three levels of seriousness and possessing a total of 23 movies. Judge Graham Cottle adjourned the case for a probation pre sentence report which will assess his suitability for a sex offenders’ treatment programme. He was released on bail but told he may still face a jail sentence. He was also ordered to sign on the sex offenders’ register.