LEE ROUSE AND CHILD ABUSE IMAGE COLLECTION IN EXMOUTH
A man identified as Lee Rouse, from Exmouth, has been sentenced to prison after police uncovered a substantial cache of child abuse images stored secretly in his home.Rouse, aged 52, had accumulated a collection of over 16,000 items of illegal content, kept concealed within a specially hidden safe designed to resemble a large book.
Authorities discovered this safe during a search of his residence following an altercation with his brother.
The police investigation revealed that Rouse was a known offender in possession of previous convictions related to the download of child abuse material from the internet.
Despite past legal issues, he had continued his disturbing habits.
During questioning, he admitted to being addicted to viewing such illicit images and videos, some depicting the abuse of very young girls.
Moreover, Rouse had changed his name from Lidio Morrineau after serving his latest prison sentence but remained under supervision, with a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) in place that permitted authorities to monitor him at any time.
The search of his property in Exmouth was prompted by an earlier incident, when officers responded to a dispute at his mother’s house involving Rouse and his brother.
During the search, the police seized not only the hidden safe and disturbing literature concerning the physical punishment of children but also a ceremonial sword measuring approximately 74 centimeters.
Although no evidence was initially found on his computer or mobile devices—likely because Rouse had taken steps to reset or clear his digital storage—the investigators recovered two removable drives and a USB stick from the safe.
Further forensic analysis of these devices uncovered a disturbing collection of illegal images and videos.
In total, 16,281 items were found on the drives, with only a subset of 1,017 items examined thoroughly before prosecutors filed charges.
The images and videos contained material depicting some children as young as two years old suffering severe abuse, with certain clips showing acts that amounted to child rape.
Nearly half of the footage and images fell into the lowest category, which involved nudity or sexual posing, while the most severe category—labelled as Category A—featured 231 movies and 140 images portraying acts of child rape.
The other categories included 41 movies and 74 images in Category B, and 75 movies alongside 457 images in Category C.
Authorities confirmed that the illegal content had been downloaded between February 2019 and June 26 of the previous year, indicating a long-term pattern of offending.
Rouse told police that he had forgotten about the existence of the book-shaped safe, despite his history of previous convictions and ongoing licence restrictions.
The safe’s concealment was regarded as an attempt to evade detection.
Prosecutor Mr.
Thomas Faulkner outlined that Rouse, who has an extensive criminal record dating back to 2004, 2013, and 2021—was found with materials including child mannequins dressed as young girls.
He also possessed a Samurai sword, which was classified as an offensive weapon.
Rouse was charged with three counts of possession of indecent images of children and one count of possessing an offensive weapon—in this case, the sword.
In court, Exeter Crown Court Judge David Evans sentenced him to a term of two years and two months in prison.
Additionally, Rouse was placed under a renewed and more restrictive Sexual Harm Prevention Order for ten years, which encompasses all known forms of digital storage, including external drives and other electronic media.
During sentencing, Judge Evans highlighted the seriousness of Rouse’s actions, noting that he had been downloading illegal content over a prolonged period, with the last known access occurring shortly before police raids.
The judge emphasized that the concealment efforts demonstrated an intent to minimize the risk of capture.
The court also took into account the probation officer’s report, which acknowledged Rouse’s admitted addiction to such material and his acknowledged sexual attraction to underage girls.
Miss Mary McCarthy, defending Rouse, expressed hope for his rehabilitation.
She stated that Rouse was committed to overcoming his problematic behavior and believed that securing employment and ceasing alcohol consumption could significantly aid his efforts once released.
The case underscores the continued vigilance and efforts by law enforcement to combat child exploitation and remove offenders from society.
