RUSSELL BOOTH FROME MAN JAILED FOR CHILD PORNOGRAPHY AND EXTREME IMAGES IN DETAILED INVESTIGATION

In a disturbing case that has shocked the community of Frome, 45-year-old Russell Booth has been sentenced to 14 months in prison after being found guilty of possessing a vast collection of indecent images of children. The investigation into Booth’s activities revealed that he had accumulated over half a million such images, with authorities stopping their examination once they reached this staggering number. Among these, police identified 178,000 images classified as 'offending images,' which Booth had collected over an eight-year period from December 2006 to July 2014.

During the court proceedings at Taunton Crown Court, it was disclosed that Booth had admitted to police that the images represented only a small portion of his collection, describing them as 'the tip of the iceberg.' The evidence presented detailed the severity of his offenses, including 192 still photographs and 354 videos categorized as Category A, which signifies the most serious level of child abuse material. Additionally, there were 983 still images and 196 videos classified as Category B, indicating a significant level of depravity. Prosecutor Richard Posner explained that these images were found across multiple computers owned by Booth, who is known locally as an IT expert.

Authorities acted swiftly after receiving a tip-off about Booth’s activities. A police raid was conducted at his residence on Little Keyford Lane, Frome. During the search, Booth, upon being confronted, immediately acknowledged that he had viewed child abuse material. Officers discovered images depicting children being sexually abused, with some of the children being described as 'significantly under the age of 13.'

In an interview conducted in October, Booth fully admitted to his offending, revealing a troubling pattern of behavior. His defense lawyer, Phillip Warren, described Booth as having made 'disarmingly candid admissions' and noted that those close to him were deeply shocked to learn about this dark aspect of his life. Warren argued that Booth was unlikely to re-offend or escalate his behavior to actual abuse, emphasizing that Booth was suffering from shame and depression. He also highlighted Booth’s efforts to break free from his addiction to pornography.

Judge James Patrick, presiding over the case, addressed Booth directly after viewing a sample of the images. He stated, 'Anyone who views that must lack empathy.' The judge characterized Booth as a 'highly-organized' individual who kept his illicit images in files and backed them up systematically. The investigation was extensive, but due to the scale of the operation, police focused only on the images they could recover, without delving into potentially deleted files on hard drives.

Booth pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity, revealing that he was in a 'sorry state' at the time of his arrest. His personal circumstances included a broken marriage, financial bankruptcy, alcohol abuse, and suicidal tendencies. In addition to his prison sentence, Booth was subjected to a 10-year sexual harm prevention order and was placed on the sex offenders register for ten years. The emotional toll of the case was evident when Booth collapsed in the courtroom upon hearing his sentence.

In a related case from February 2016, Booth was also ordered to surrender his passport after pleading guilty to downloading nearly 180,000 indecent images from the internet, including extreme pornography. The court heard that he committed 13 offenses related to making indecent images of children and one offense involving possession of an extreme pornographic image. His defense lawyer, Phillip Warren, explained that the case had been ongoing for 18 months and that Booth had entered a guilty plea at the earliest opportunity. Judge Ian Lawrie QC acknowledged Booth’s awareness of his issues and indicated that he clearly needed professional help. The case was adjourned for further reports, and Booth was released on bail pending the next hearing scheduled for February 25.