JOHN BLATCHFORD FROM TOTTON SENTENCED FOR CHILD SEX OFFENCES AND DARK WEB GUIDE AT DARTMOOR PRISON

In December 2019, a disturbing case emerged involving John Blatchford, a resident of Totton near Southampton, who engaged in highly illegal activities while incarcerated at Dartmoor Prison. Blatchford, a known sex offender, was found to have authored a detailed six-page handwritten manual that provided instructions on how to access child abuse images and videos online, specifically targeting the dark web. This guide was created for another inmate who was about to be released, and it contained explicit instructions on how to navigate the dark web, including the names of illegal websites where such images are exchanged. The document also explained methods to erase all digital evidence of illegal browsing, demonstrating a clear intent to facilitate ongoing criminal activity.

Blatchford’s actions directly violated the terms of his Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO), which explicitly prohibited him from discussing child sexual abuse with anyone, whether in person or online. His breach of this order led to an extension of his sentence. Previously, Blatchford, aged 41 and residing at Blackwater Mews in Totton, had been serving a six-year sentence after being convicted of attempting to commit sexual offences against two young girls aged seven and nine. His conviction followed an undercover police operation that caught him attempting to send extremely serious child abuse images to an officer posing as the father of the fictional girls, with whom he also arranged to carry out abuse.

Judge Paul Cook at Exeter Crown Court sentenced Blatchford to an additional 22 months in prison for breaching the SHPO. During the sentencing, the judge emphasized the disturbing nature of the handwritten guide, describing it as a “paedophile manual” that detailed how to access images of children and avoid detection, including references to the dark web. The judge noted that the effort and technical detail involved in creating such a document demonstrated Blatchford’s determination to continue offending and to encourage others to do the same.

Prosecutor Richard Crabb explained that the guide was created in June 2017 and was handed over to a friend who was about to be released from Dartmoor. The guide only came to light when the friend’s offender manager grew suspicious of his behavior after release and conducted a search of his home, where Blatchford’s fingerprints were found on the paper, confirming his authorship. Crabb described the act as a “flagrant and deliberate attempt to assist another in accessing child abuse material and avoid detection,” noting that the fact it was committed while Blatchford was in prison added to the severity of the offense.

Blatchford’s criminal history includes a previous conviction in 2008 for possessing approximately 2,500 images and movies of children, many of which were in the most severe categories. He also served a one-year sentence for this offense. In October 2014, he was sentenced at Southampton Crown Court to six years in prison and a four-year extended license after being found guilty of attempting to arrange a child sex offense and distributing indecent images of children.

His defense attorney, William Parkhill, argued that the guide was solely about accessing images rather than engaging in direct contact with children. He also noted that Blatchford had been using illegal drugs at Dartmoor at the time of writing the guide and had since been transferred to Ashfield Prison near Bristol, where he volunteered for a sex offenders’ treatment program and had ceased drug use.

Earlier, in November 2014, Blatchford was sentenced to six years after being caught attempting to groom two fictitious girls online from his home in Blackwater Mews, Totton. He had sent explicit images and videos in an effort to lure the undercover officer’s daughters, aged seven and nine, into sexual activity. The court heard how Blatchford exchanged graphic material with the officer, who was posing as a paedophile, and even offered to have sex with the girls. Prosecutor Chris Stopa stated that Blatchford’s online activity included an exchange of emails indicating interest in the officer’s children, culminating in an explicit offer of sex.

In November 2013, Blatchford was advised that he could give the girls alcohol to facilitate sexual abuse, but he did not follow through due to railway issues in Southampton. He was convicted in September of one count of sexual grooming and seven counts of distributing indecent images of children. The court described him as a “significant danger” to the public, emphasizing his pattern of behavior and the graphic nature of his online exchanges, which he engaged in with “considerable enthusiasm.”

Blatchford’s criminal record also includes a 2008 conviction for downloading 2,500 images of children, which he stored on a memory stick at a friend’s house. His latest sentences include a total of six years in prison, extended license for four years, and mandatory registration as a sex offender. He is prohibited from being alone with children under 16 unless supervised, from using the internet without supervision, and from deleting or hiding his online activity. He was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £120, reflecting the serious nature of his crimes.