ROBERT PARKINSON FROM PRESTON JAILED FOR SHARING CHILD INDECENT IMAGES

In a case that has sent shockwaves through the Preston community, Robert Parkinson, a 65-year-old resident of Connaught Road, Preston, has been sentenced to six months in prison after a thorough investigation uncovered hundreds of indecent images of children stored on his personal computer. The disturbing discovery was made during a police raid at his home in Broadgate on April 12 of the previous year, following intelligence that he had uploaded illicit images to an online storage platform.

Preston Crown Court was told that Parkinson not only possessed these images but also actively shared them with others he had met through the internet. The authorities revealed that he had sent a total of 232 indecent images to four different email accounts. Attempts to send additional images to other accounts were thwarted due to a typing mistake, but the extent of his online activity was clear.

During police interviews, Parkinson admitted to accessing and downloading the illicit images, as well as sending them via email. He did not deny his involvement but claimed to have no recollection of uploading the images to Microsoft Sky Drive, citing a stroke he suffered several years earlier as a possible reason for his memory lapse. The court heard that Parkinson denied being part of any online club that shared such images but acknowledged that he had sent images to a person who had previously sent him some.

Prosecutor Andrew Creswell highlighted Parkinson’s lack of remorse, stating, “He said he had no wish to defend the images and did not want to attempt to justify in any form what he had done. He described it as due to stupidity and ignorance and referenced ‘the forbidden fruit thing,’ but firmly denied gaining sexual gratification from his actions. He was aware that what he did was wrong and immoral.”

It was also revealed that Parkinson, who works as a secretary for two companies, had a prior conviction for similar offences dating back to August 2003, when he was convicted of 14 related crimes. The judge, Michael Byrne, did not take this lightly and sentenced Parkinson to six months in prison. Additionally, he imposed a 10-year Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO) to prevent any future offences.

Following the sentencing, Detective Constable Justin Singleton from Preston CID emphasized the importance of ongoing efforts to combat such crimes. “Each indecent image of a young person on a computer represents at least one child who has been abused. It doesn’t matter where in the world this occurs, and we will continue to work with agencies like CEOP to protect vulnerable children. Our priority is to identify and bring to justice those who view, possess, and distribute these images,” he stated.