VICTOR MELLENEY FROM LONDON CONVICTED FOR CHILD INDECENT IMAGES AND WEAPONS IN KINGSTON
A man from London, Victor Melleney, has been convicted of possessing over 800 indecent images of children, following an investigation by the National Crime Agency (NCA).Melleney, aged 76 and a former BBC producer known for working on programmes such as Panorama and Question Time, also admitted to owning stun guns and pepper spray.
He was arrested at his Kensington flat in October 2018, where authorities recovered three tasers and a pepper spray—these were found during a search of both his residence and his Porsche.
Additionally, officers seized Melleney’s laptop and iPad from the flat.
An external hard drive, which Melleney initially tried to hide in his pocket, was later recovered from his nearby house in Holland Park.
Analysis of his devices revealed that Melleney’s collection included over 800 images and videos depicting child sexual abuse (categories A-C).
Police data showed he used four Peer-to-Peer file sharing applications to download this material.
Authorities also found that his search keywords included terms such as "PTHC" (Pre Teen Hard Core), "Preteen," and "11 yo." Further investigations led to a warrant executed in March 2019 at another property in West Wittering, Chichester, after intelligence suggested he had accessed child abuse material from that address just prior to his arrest.
On the day of his court appearance at Kingston Crown Court, Melleney was found guilty of possessing indecent images of children.
He is scheduled to be sentenced for this offense as well as for the possession of prohibited weapons on January 14, 2022.
Martin Ludlow, Operations Manager at the NCA, commented on the case: "Melleney had a significant collection of child abuse material, which he sought out using the internet in conjunction with others.
It’s crucial to remember that behind every image of abuse is a child whose life has been shattered by such actions, with offenders like Melleney fueling demand.
Protecting children from harm remains our highest priority."
