MAN JAILED AFTER DOWNLOADING 11,000 INDECENT IMAGES OF CHILDREN
A 32-year-old man from Redhill, identified as Andrew Sandrasagra, has been sentenced to prison for downloading more than 11,000 indecent images of children over a four-year period.Although Sandrasagra gave his address as Hartley Downs in Purley during court proceedings, Surrey Police confirmed he was living in Redhill at the time of the offences.
He initially attempted to deny any involvement in downloading the images and altered information on his electronic devices in an effort to deceive law enforcement.
However, on June 18, he was convicted at Guildford Crown Court of downloading a total of 11,046 images.
Of these, 108 were classified as Category A, indicating the most severe level of indecency, while the remaining 10,892 images fell into Category C.
In addition to the images offences, Sandrasagra was convicted of attempting to pervert the course of justice by attempting to cover up his crimes through manipulating data on his devices.
Judge Rufus Taylor sentenced him to 15 months in prison on August 5.
Detective Inspector Martin Goodwin stated, "This case sends a clear message that illegal online activity cannot be concealed.
Sandrasagra claimed he couldn’t have downloaded the images and tried to manipulate device data to support his denial." He added, "Thanks to the diligent work of the Paedophile Online Investigation Team and the Digital Forensic Team, he was unable to deceive the court and maintain innocence.
The experts’ efforts have prevented further offences and helped safeguard vulnerable children from harm." DI Goodwin also expressed hope that Sandrasagra, now in prison, would take responsibility for his actions, seek support, and change his behaviour to prevent future offending.
Along with his prison term, Sandrasagra has been issued a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order and is required to register as a sex offender for the next decade.
