PETER MAUGHAN

A man found with an extremely large collection of child sexual abuse images—so many that police stopped counting after reaching 4,000—has been given a suspended jail term.

Peter Maughan, aged 48 from Wallsend, had in his possession numerous images and videos of young girls as young as five being sexually assaulted, a sentencing hearing at Newcastle Crown Court was told.

The court heard that Maughan stored his illicit collection on a computer and external hard drive, and that his internet activity was focused on searching for images of children and related themes of family sexual abuse.

He admitted to three charges of creating indecent images of children and was sentenced to a year in prison, with the sentence suspended for two years.

Police executed a search at his home on October 11, 2023, seizing multiple devices, prosecutor Emma Dowling reported.

Officers found 49 images classified as the most serious level, along with 142 in a second tier and more than 3,700 in a third tier, with authorities stopping their count at 4,000 because they had collected enough evidence, although they recognized there were still many more images stored.

The ages of the victims in his collection ranged from five to 13 years old, with some of the most severe images showing the youngest victims being raped.

In court, it was explained that Maughan was a heavy cannabis user at the time and socially isolated, which reportedly led to an unhealthy obsession with pornography.

Judge Penny Moreland stated that Maughan intentionally conducted searches for child sexual abuse images, including those involving familial abuse.

The court also ordered Maughan to complete 150 hours of unpaid community service and to pay £500 toward court expenses.