BRIAN RIDYARD FROM KIRKBYMOORSIDE SENTENCED IN YORK FOR CHILD-ABUSE IMAGE OFFENSES

In December 2018, a serious case unfolded involving Brian Ridyard, a disgraced accountant from Kirkbymoorside, who faced significant legal repercussions after a series of disturbing discoveries linked to his online activities. Ridyard, aged 65, who was previously sentenced in November 2017 to five years in prison for a substantial fraud involving approximately £320,000, has now received an additional jail term following revelations of his possession and creation of nearly 20,000 indecent images of children.

His latest sentencing came after he admitted to making and possessing these abhorrent images, which he had downloaded prior to his arrest last year. The images included a range of categories, with some classified as the most severe, depicting serious sexual abuse. The police investigation into Ridyard’s activities was initiated unexpectedly when officers searched his residence in Ryedale, seeking evidence related to child abuse images. During the search, they seized computer equipment and documents that not only confirmed his possession of illegal images but also uncovered a pattern of extensive financial fraud spanning from January 2012 to July 2016.

Ridyard’s fraudulent activities targeted small businesses and self-employed individuals across North Yorkshire and the East Riding. His schemes involved failing to submit tax returns to Revenue & Customs, withholding correspondence from his clients, and secretly retaining some of their tax rebates. His victims included a diverse array of local businesses, such as a security and alarms installation firm, a guest house, a barber, a private landlord, a beauty salon, a transport company, a computer business, and a specialist vehicle maintenance firm.

Following his initial conviction for fraud, police continued their investigation into Ridyard’s online conduct. This led to charges of 14 counts of possessing child sexual abuse images, six counts of making indecent images, and possession of prohibited images, including 28 cartoon depictions involving child abuse. Ridyard, who resides on Duna Way, admitted to all charges and appeared via video link in court on the Monday of sentencing.

Prosecutor Neil Coxon detailed the severity of the images found on Ridyard’s devices, revealing that out of the 19,840 images, 723 were classified as Category A, representing the most serious form of abuse. Over 400 of these were videos. The majority of the images, approximately 18,845, fell into Category C, which includes less severe but still illegal content involving children. Additionally, police discovered 327 images categorized as Category B, along with the cartoon images.

It was established that Ridyard had been downloading and viewing these depraved images between 2014 and 2017. Notably, he had a prior conviction in 2016 for similar offences, which occurred while he was still practicing as an accountant with a firm based in Hambleton. Although he was spared prison at that time, he was subjected to a sexual-harm prevention order intended to restrict his online activities. Despite this, he continued to download and view illegal material, indicating a troubling escalation in his offending behavior.

Judge Simon Hickey addressed Ridyard directly, stating, “You were given a chance in 2016 to address your behaviour and you didn’t. You then went on to escalate your activity.” The judge sentenced Ridyard to an additional 12 months in prison, which will run consecutively to his existing five-year sentence. This means Ridyard will serve a total of six years behind bars. Furthermore, the court ordered that he be placed on the sex-offenders’ register for ten years, subjected to a sexual-harm prevention order for a similar period, and disbarred from practicing as an accountant in the future.