PETER WATSON FROM KIRK ELLA SENTENCED FOR NEARLY 5500 CHILD INDECENT IMAGES IN HULL

In a disturbing case that has shocked the local community of Kirk Ella, Peter Watson, a 72-year-old resident, has been convicted of possessing an alarming number of indecent images of children. The authorities uncovered a total of 5,456 illicit images on his devices, some of which depicted children as young as five years old in highly inappropriate and illegal content.

Watson’s arrest followed an incident where he accessed a child pornography website, which ultimately led to police intervention at his residence on Glenfield Drive. When officers arrived on February 16 of the previous year, they found Watson at his home and proceeded to seize his electronic devices. During the initial visit, Watson was too unwell to be interviewed, citing health issues and medication he had been taking since 2007. It was only in September, during a subsequent interview, that he admitted to possessing indecent images, although he claimed he could not remember downloading them due to his health problems.

His case was brought before Hull Crown Court, where Judge Simon Jack delivered a stern judgment. The judge condemned the trade of child pornography, emphasizing its vile nature and the role of individuals like Watson in perpetuating and encouraging such heinous abuse. Judge Jack stated, “The child pornography trade is a vile trade and those who download images of child pornography are assisting in that trade, taking part in it, encouraging it, encouraging the vile abuse of defenceless children.”

He further dismissed any defense based on Watson’s health, asserting, “People who commit offences of this kind have no regard for the wellbeing of people who are being abused and the courts will have no regard for their wellbeing.” The judge made it clear that Watson was fully aware of his actions, noting that when police visited him, he acknowledged the presence of such images on his computer.

Investigations revealed that Watson’s devices contained a significant amount of illegal material. A Hewlett Packard desktop computer was found to have 25 indecent images, a Dell computer held 263 images, and an 8GB pen drive contained a staggering 5,168 images. The content included both still images and videos, with a distribution across severity levels—3,016 images classified as level one, the least serious, and 48 images at level five, the most severe.

In his defense, lawyer Richard Thompson highlighted Watson’s efforts to address his offending. Watson had reportedly sought help through counseling, engaged with the child protection charity the Lucy Faithfull Foundation, and contacted the Stop It Now helpline in an attempt to reform.

Ultimately, Watson was sentenced to 18 months in prison, but the sentence was suspended for two years. Additionally, he was ordered to register as a sex offender for ten years and was placed under a serious crime prevention order for the same period. This order restricts his use of computers and monitors his online activity to prevent further offenses, reflecting the seriousness with which the court views his crimes and the ongoing threat they pose to society.