MICHAEL CRONEY'S SHAMEFUL CRIMES IN CONSETT, GATESHEAD, AND MEDOMSLEY REVEALED

In September 2013, a man with a deeply troubling history of sexual offenses, Michael Croney, was sentenced to prison after police uncovered a disturbing collection of indecent images of children. The investigation was initiated following a police visit to his residence, where officers discovered a significant cache of illicit material that exposed the extent of his offending.

Most of the 139 indecent images were stored on a laptop computer recovered from the trunk of Croney’s vehicle. Additionally, some images were found on a mobile phone located in a bedroom within his home. The court heard that the laptop was equipped with a file-sharing facility, which made 91 of the images available for distribution. However, there was no evidence to suggest that anyone else had accessed or downloaded these images from his device.

Prosecutor Martin Towers explained that Croney had made admissions regarding the images recovered during the police investigation. Despite this, Croney claimed he was unaware that the computer had a file-sharing feature enabled. Nevertheless, a warning message had appeared on the screen, alerting users to the file-sharing capability, which cast doubt on his claims of ignorance.

Croney, aged 46 and residing at Denesyde, Consett, faced multiple charges. He pleaded guilty to 16 counts of making indecent images of children, one count of possession, and five counts of distribution. He also admitted to possessing extreme pornography depicting scenes of bestiality. The court was informed that Croney’s criminal record included 23 previous convictions, many related to indecent exposure and gross indecency with children. Notably, in 2002, he was sentenced to two and a half years in prison and placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register for life.

Details of his past offenses revealed that Croney had a history of exposing himself to schoolgirls at bus stops and performing sexual acts in public. These behaviors underscored a pattern of predatory conduct that had persisted over the years.

During mitigation, Nigel Adkin explained that Croney believed he had downloaded the offending images between July and December 2010 and had not used the laptop since January 2011. However, he acknowledged that seven images were found on the mobile phone he was using at the time of the police raid on February 1 of that year. Mr. Adkin emphasized that this case was inevitably custodial, citing Croney’s troubling background, which, although mostly involving exposure, was nonetheless serious.

He clarified that Croney’s admissions regarding distribution were based on the concept of “notional distribution,” meaning that the material was accessible to others, but there was no concrete evidence of actual sharing or dissemination.

Recorder Ian Atherton sentenced Croney to 21 months in prison. In his remarks, the judge highlighted Croney’s “sorry history of exposing yourself to children,” emphasizing the need for both punishment and intervention. The court also imposed a lifelong sexual offences prevention order, restricting Croney’s access to the internet and prohibiting him from having unsupervised contact with children.

Croney’s criminal history dates back to 2002, shortly after he was released from a four-year prison sentence for similar offenses. Just days after his release, he committed a new offense in Gateshead, exposing himself to a 12-year-old girl waiting at a bus stop with her 13-year-old friend. The girl managed to escape and alerted her father, who noted Croney’s car registration as he disappeared into an alleyway. Croney was arrested but initially denied the offense. The young girl was required to identify him in an identity parade and testify in court before he finally pleaded guilty to indecency towards a child.

In a subsequent sentencing at Newcastle Crown Court, Croney received a four-year jail term. Judge Richard Lowden stated that the Court of Appeal had been wrong to reduce his original four-year sentence, which was handed down after he pleaded guilty to multiple charges of indecency, exposure, and threatening behavior in Guildford, Surrey. The judge expressed concern that a short sentence would likely lead to re-offending, emphasizing the seriousness of his conduct.

Croney, who has been married twice and currently has a girlfriend, is now required to register as a sex offender for life. His repeated offenses and troubling past underscore the ongoing threat he poses to the community in Consett, Gateshead, and Medomsley, prompting authorities to take stringent measures to prevent further harm.