DAVID TAYLOR FROM BREEDON ON THE HILL JAILED IN BRITAIN AFTER THAI ARREST

In a significant development in the ongoing fight against child exploitation, David Taylor, a man originally from Breedon on the Hill, has been sentenced to three years in prison after being extradited from Thailand. The case highlights a disturbing history of offending that spans over a decade, involving the possession and distribution of thousands of indecent images of children.

Back in 1998, Taylor, then 66 years old and residing on Worthington Lane in Breedon on the Hill, was caught with a staggering 7,556 indecent images stored on his computer. At that time, police launched Operation Olympic, an investigation into a suspected pornography distribution network. During a raid on Taylor’s rented home, officers discovered evidence of a child pornography operation, including 200 images of extreme pornography, 100 discs containing various indecent images, a list of customers, and a catalogue. When Taylor realized police were outside, he attempted to destroy his computer by stamping on it, but his efforts were unsuccessful.

Despite being granted police bail on October 14, 1998, Taylor, who had no prior convictions, provided a false email address to authorities. He denied any involvement in a paedophile ring and claimed he left the country due to 'stress.' However, he continued his offending while in Thailand, where he had fled, downloading an additional 3,792 images of child abuse, bringing his total to over 11,000 images. His continued activities prompted an international arrest warrant, but efforts to locate him initially proved unsuccessful.

It was not until December 19 that Taylor was finally apprehended at a Thai post office in Nakhon Ratchasima, northeast of Bangkok, where he was renting a mailbox. Following his arrest, he was detained in Thailand for three months before being extradited back to Britain in March. The Thai authorities seized a computer and DVDs believed to contain child pornography, including explicit images of Thai children and other nationalities. Thai police reported that Taylor had lured children for sexual activities and uploaded videos of these acts online, admitting to finding children to photograph and selling the images on the internet.

Upon his return to Britain, Taylor faced a series of charges. At Leicester Crown Court, he pleaded guilty to 45 counts of making indecent images, which spanned from July 1997 to 1998. These counts included 3,954 images at the lowest level of severity, escalating to 147 images in the most serious category, level five. He also admitted to five similar offences committed in Thailand between July 2007 and December of the previous year, involving thousands of images across various levels of severity.

Judge Michael Pert QC described the images as 'disgusting' and condemned Taylor’s persistent offending. He emphasized that Taylor was an 'intransigent offender' who had spent over ten years in Thailand accessing child pornography instead of facing justice in Britain. The judge sentenced him to three years in prison, a term that reflects the gravity of his crimes. Additionally, Taylor was ordered to be placed on the sex offender register for life and was subjected to a sexual offences prevention order. This order restricts his future use of computers and bans him from engaging in any activity that could bring him into contact with minors.

Keith Raynor, prosecuting, provided context for the case, explaining that police had initially uncovered evidence of a child pornography operation in 1998. Despite the initial arrest and bail, Taylor’s flight to Thailand allowed him to continue his offending. The case underscores the importance of international cooperation in tackling such heinous crimes, with authorities in both the UK and Thailand working together to bring Taylor to justice. The British Embassy confirmed his arrest, marking a significant step in the ongoing effort to combat child exploitation and protect vulnerable victims.