STEVE COOK'S SHOCKING CRIME IN WARWICK: CHILD ABUSER'S HORRIFIC PAST AND NEW OFFENSES REVEALED

In August 2017, a disturbing case emerged involving Steven Cook, a man from Warwick whose actions have sent shockwaves through the community. Cook, aged 36 and residing on Lakin Road in Warwick, was found guilty of multiple serious offenses related to child exploitation and indecency. His criminal activities included taking inappropriate photographs of children outside schools and in parks within Warwick, raising grave concerns about the safety of local children.

Cook had previously been convicted of child abuse, having served a 12-month prison sentence in 2006 for indecent assault and gross indecency involving a 13-year-old girl. Following that conviction, he was ordered to register as a sex offender for ten years. However, he failed to comply with these registration requirements on three separate occasions, leading to further legal action in 2013. During that year, magistrates also imposed a sexual offences prevention order on Cook, explicitly prohibiting him from having unsupervised contact with children.

Despite these restrictions, Cook continued to pose a significant risk. As part of his monitoring, police officers regularly visited his home, and during an unannounced visit in February of the same year, authorities discovered troubling evidence. When asked to hand over his mobile phone, Cook attempted to delete certain content. The police seized his device and uncovered an alarming array of images and chat logs. One image depicted a girl in her early teens dressed in a revealing outfit, and online conversations included interactions with girls as young as five, with some referring to Cook as ‘daddy.’

Initially, Cook denied possessing another phone, but subsequent searches revealed a second device, along with a laptop, tablet, and numerous memory cards. He claimed that aside from the phone in question, his other devices were free of inappropriate material. However, police forensic analysis painted a different picture. Experts uncovered a staggering total of 1,195 still images and 340 videos classified as Category A, which involved explicit sexual activity with children, including some involving pre-pubescent children and even infants being forced into sexual acts by adults. These images depicted some of the most severe forms of child abuse, including rape and forced oral sex.

In addition to Category A material, authorities found 1,037 still images and 182 videos in Category B, showing children engaged in non-penetrative sexual acts. There were also 3,563 still images and 118 videos in Category C, which depicted children in naked or indecent poses. Further disturbing evidence revealed that Cook had shared some of these images online, including one Category A image and two Category C images, with other users on chat sites.

During the court proceedings, Cook’s defense lawyer, Eugene Hickey, acknowledged the high risk Cook posed. He stated, “The view of the pre-sentence report author is that at this moment in time he presents a high risk of serious harm to children. He clearly has a problem, but it’s noteworthy that since his police interview he’s moved on from being reluctant to accept he found children sexually attractive to accepting in the pre-sentence report that he does. That is an important first step.”

However, the judge, Recorder Steven Evans, was unequivocal in his sentencing. He emphasized the gravity of Cook’s actions and the ongoing danger he posed. “You have, as you yourself now admit, a sexual interest in children,” the judge stated. “It is important to understand the nature of that interest, because what I want to explain to you is that because people like you have sexual interests in children, children somewhere in the world are sexually abused and filmed. We don’t know who those children are. Some of them, even if we did know, are too young to speak about the consequences of this abuse that’s filmed because of your interest. Somebody, somewhere in the world, took a baby and filmed oral sex with it so that people like you could gain sexual gratification. Those children all exist somewhere in the world, and are living with the trauma of that abuse. That is the harm that’s done.”

He continued, “Right it is that you have taken a very important first step, in that you have acknowledged you have a sexual interest in children. Until someone takes that step, no work can be done with them, but you remain a very high risk of re-offending, a high risk to children.”

As a result, Steven Cook was sentenced to four years in prison. He will be required to serve at least two-thirds of that sentence before being considered for parole. His release is contingent upon the parole board’s assessment of his rehabilitation and safety. If released early, Cook will remain on license for the remainder of his sentence and an additional four years, during which he can be recalled to prison if his behavior raises concerns. This case underscores the ongoing threat posed by individuals like Cook and highlights the importance of vigilant monitoring and community safety measures in Warwick.