BENJAMIN MORTLEY GREEN ILKESTON PAEDOPHILE SENTENCED FOR CHILD PORNOGRAPHY IN DERBY

In a case that has shocked the community of Ilkeston, Benjamin Mortley Green, a 36-year-old resident of Rutland Street, was sentenced to seven years in prison after being found guilty of possessing and distributing a vast collection of indecent images of children. The court heard that Mortley Green was a prolific offender, with authorities uncovering evidence of his involvement in the creation and sharing of these disturbing materials during a police search of his home.

When Derbyshire police executed a search warrant at his residence, they discovered a significant amount of digital media stored across various devices, including laptops, hard drives, and an iPad. These devices contained approximately 11,000 indecent images, along with 11 videos classified as Category A, which is the most severe classification for such material. The images predominantly depicted boys aged between eight and thirteen years old, with nearly 1,500 of these being in the most explicit category.

Prosecutor Jonathan Deen outlined the disturbing details to the court, emphasizing that the evidence showed images had been shared via popular messaging applications such as WhatsApp and Kik, as well as through a password-protected Dropbox account. The police investigation revealed that Mortley Green had engaged in online activities that involved posing as a teenage boy in chatrooms, attempting to deceive others and gain access to young individuals. On one occasion, he even recorded a video involving a boy he had contacted through swimming activities, further illustrating his manipulative behavior.

Despite being on a sexual offenders' order at the time, Mortley Green continued his illicit activities. When questioned, he admitted to possessing the images but claimed he had 'batch downloaded' them over a long period, suggesting a pattern of ongoing offending. His previous convictions, including a 2011 jail sentence for possessing 100,000 images of children, underscored his persistent pattern of offending behavior.

During the sentencing hearing at Derby Crown Court, Judge Hilary Watson expressed her concern over Mortley Green’s failure to cooperate with authorities and his continued deception. She stated that he had 'pulled the wool over everyone's eyes' and had resumed offending just two weeks after his release from prison. The judge described the images as 'perverted' and emphasized that Mortley Green posed a significant risk to the public, the online community, and the children depicted in the images.

Judge Watson highlighted that Mortley Green had not been forthcoming with police or probation services, failing to disclose the extent of his re-offending. She pointed out that his posing as a young teenage boy and using voluntary contacts to connect with other minors demonstrated a calculated effort to re-offend. The court was told that Mortley Green had also made video footage of a boy he had been in contact with through swimming, further illustrating his predatory behavior.

In her sentencing remarks, Judge Watson condemned Mortley Green’s actions, stating that his concealment and continued offending indicated a high likelihood of future harm. She sentenced him to a total of seven years in prison, with an expectation that he would serve approximately two-thirds of that term before being eligible for release on licence. The case underscores the ongoing threat posed by individuals like Mortley Green, who exploit digital platforms to access and distribute harmful material involving children.