STEVE ALLEN FROM IPSWICH ESCAPES JAIL AFTER DOWNLOAD OF CHILD INDECENT IMAGES
In August 2021, a man from Ipswich named Steve Allen was involved in a serious criminal case concerning the possession and creation of indecent images of children.Despite the gravity of his actions, Allen was not sent to prison but received a suspended sentence after appearing at Ipswich Crown Court.
Allen, aged 55 and residing on Clover Close in Ipswich, had previously admitted to four charges during a hearing before magistrates on July 29 of the same year.
These charges included three counts of making indecent images of children and one count of possessing extreme pornography.
His guilty plea marked a significant step in the legal proceedings against him.
The investigation into Allen’s activities was initiated when police executed a warrant at his residence on July 27 of the previous year.
Authorities acted on information indicating that indecent images of children had been downloaded from Allen’s IP address.
During the search, officers seized multiple electronic devices, including a Lenovo laptop, an Acer computer tower, a Samsung hard drive, and a My Passport Ultra external drive.
Forensic analysis of these devices revealed a disturbing collection of illegal material.
Investigators uncovered a total of 109 of the most serious, category A indecent images of children, along with 175 category A videos.
Additionally, they found 96 images classified as category B, five videos in the same category, 74 images in category C, one category C video, and a single extreme pornographic image depicting an adult female engaged in sexual activity with a dog.
Among the most disturbing content were images of very young children; one category A video depicted a boy estimated to be between four and six years old, while a category B image showed a girl as young as 18 months.
Further examination of the devices revealed the presence of anti-forensic software designed to conceal or delete evidence.
Programs such as Disk Cleaner, Shredder, and Clean-Up were found, along with a Tor Browser on the Acer computer tower, indicating an attempt to browse the internet anonymously.
During police interviews, Allen admitted to accessing the illicit material out of “morbid curiosity” during May and June, using a file-sharing program called Shareaza.
Importantly, there was no evidence to suggest that Allen had distributed any of the images or videos he possessed.
In sentencing, Recorder Graham Huston acknowledged Allen’s remorse but emphasized the broader implications of such behavior.
He stated, “You have shown remorse for your behaviour and said you found it difficult, if not impossible, to explain why you were downloading this disgusting material.
It’s the appetite of men, such as you, for such material, that causes more of the material to be produced – to satisfy the demand of which you were part – and that means, simply, that more children will be abused.” As a result, Allen was sentenced to 12 months in prison, suspended for two years.
He was also ordered to complete 30 days of rehabilitation activities and will be subject to a sexual harm prevention order for ten years, aimed at protecting the community from further offenses.
