TEEN'S STASH OF CHILD ABUSE IMAGES INCLUDED TWO-YEAR-OLDS
A teenage boy from West Cumbria accumulated over 7,000 illegal images depicting child sexual abuse, with more than half classified as the most severe category, Category A.During the hearing at Carlisle Crown Court, it was revealed that some of the victims in the images were as young as two years old.
Charlie Barton, aged 19 and from Whitehaven, started downloading these illicit images at age 17.
He continued to collect similar content, including videos of child abuse, for several months after he turned 18.
The defendant pleaded guilty to possessing child exploitation images in categories A, B, and C, along with five images of extreme pornography and a prohibited image involving a child.
The statistics showed there were 3,434 images in the most serious Category A, 1,723 in Category B, and 2,156 in Category C.
Prosecutor Andrew Gurney outlined how the offending took place.
Police raided Barton's home in Cockermouth on March 25 of the previous year following a tip-off that he was accessing child abuse material online.
“Three mobile phones were seized,” Mr.
Gurney explained.
The illicit images were stored on a Motorola phone linked to a cloud storage account.
In total, authorities recovered 7,313 illegal images.
The prosecution emphasized that the case was aggravated due to the large number of images and Barton's efforts to hide his activity via cloud storage.
It was recorded that Barton started viewing the images four months before his 18th birthday and continued for another seven months afterwards.
Judge Eric Lamb noted that a pre-sentence report from the Probation Service highlighted the defendant’s young age as a significant factor.
However, the report also pointed out that Barton had exhibited similar behavior when much younger, though he was not prosecuted at that time.
The judge observed that Barton faced underlying issues which appeared to have contributed to self-destructive tendencies.
Tariq Khawam, representing Barton, emphasized his client’s immaturity and supported the recommendation for a community-based sentence.
He highlighted the particular challenges faced by young individuals who have been in care.
“Victims in this case were as young as two or three,” added Recorder Lamb, as he imposed an 18-month community order.
The judge acknowledged Barton’s difficult early life and expressed hope that significant rehabilitation efforts could be made.
He told Barton, “This is not a lenient sentence; it will require you to work hard with the Probation Service to prevent this behavior in the future.” The sentence includes ten days of rehabilitative activities and participation in a 26-session Building Choices programme.
Barton, residing on Michael Street in Whitehaven, will be registered as a sex offender for five years.
Additionally, he must comply with a sexual harm prevention order that imposes restrictions on his internet use.
Stop It Now, operated by the Lucy Faithfull Foundation—a UK charity dedicated solely to preventing child sexual abuse—provides support to individuals concerned about abuse and its prevention efforts.
