February 2017 ‘Despicable’ paedophile faked burglary to hide disgusting child abuse images A paedophile who realised police were after him when he uploaded pictures to a Russian website threw his laptop away and then claimed it was stolen in a burglary. But when a detective visited Thomas Daly’s home to investigate, he quickly realised he was lying, Hull Crown Court heard. Phillip Evans, prosecuting, told Judge David Tremberg: “The detective sergeant visited the defendant to investigate this burglary and was given a number of different accounts as to how the burglary had taken place. “The detective sergeant was particularly exercised by the fact the thief had taken the laptop computer, while singularly avoiding taking the charging cable that went with it, which, in the detective sergeant’s experience, would be unusual. “At all events, your honour, the defendant came to admit that his report of a burglary was a fabrication.” Daly, 24, led police to some waste ground near his home in Windsor Drive, Goole, and pointed out the Toshiba laptop, which was concealed in a carrier bag. Police had been monitoring the Russian website because it was known to be used by “people who possess and exchange indecent images of children”, Mr Evans said. When Daly’s computer was examined, accessible to its user was a movie lasting two minutes and seven seconds of an adult sexually abusing a nine-year-old child. It was a Category A film, the most extreme. Another 1,499 images, which were not available to Daly, were also found. He admitted downloading them. Some involved extreme abuse of children as young as three. There were 217 Category A images, 90 at Category B, and 1,192 at Category C. Daly admitted making indecent images of children, possessing indecent images of children, and obstructing or resisting a constable in the execution of his duty. The offences took place between February 2013 and January 2015. Graham Pressler, for Daly, said: “He’s been living in the shadow of the gallows, which used to be applied to capital offences.” “The good old days,” said the judge. “Not knowing whether he’s going to be hanged or deported,” Mr Pressler said. The judge said it was serious case of its kind and told Daly: “Offences like this have a tendency to encourage the people who abuse children to abuse more, film it and put it on the internet. “Some of these children never fully recover from the emotional harm that has been done to them. “Sometimes it takes years for the full effects of sexual abuse to become known.” The judge told Daly that however hard victims tried to move on with their lives, they did so in the knowledge that somewhere in the world, someone like him was performing a sex act while viewing the images, which drew a gasp from a woman in the public gallery. “What you did is despicable, do you understand?” he said. Daly was sentenced to a three-year community order, which includes attending 45 sessions of the Northumbria Sex Offenders Group Programme. He must also have 50 days rehabilitation. The judge warned Daly if he failed to comply with any parts of the order he would jail him for a year. He must register as a sex offender for five years, and comply with a sexual harm prevention order for the same period.