SHAUN SPARROW FROM ASHINGTON AND PLYMOUTH CAUGHT WITH CHILD ABUSE IMAGES ON ROYAL NAVY WARSHIP

In December 2014, a civilian worker named Shaun Sparrow, aged 28 and originally from Ashington in Northumberland, was found guilty of possessing indecent images of children while on board a Royal Navy aircraft carrier, HMS Illustrious, stationed in Plymouth Sound. The court proceedings revealed that Sparrow had 28 such images stored across multiple devices, including his hard drive, laptop, and mobile phone. Despite the gravity of the charges, Sparrow was spared immediate imprisonment, receiving instead a 12-month community order, along with requirements to register as a sex offender and adhere to a Sexual Offenders Prevention Order for five years.

During the trial at Plymouth Crown Court, Sparrow maintained that he had not knowingly downloaded or possessed the images. He claimed that he was unaware of their presence until police informed him. The court heard that the images were categorized into different levels of severity, with four in Category A, the most extreme, one in Category B, and the remaining 23 in Category C. Sparrow, who was employed as a NAAFI worker, had denied five counts of possessing and one count of making indecent images of children, with the alleged offenses occurring in October and November 2011.

Prosecutors presented evidence that the images had been transferred between devices, which contributed to Sparrow’s conviction. The court also noted that Sparrow was very interested in gay pornography, which the judge suggested could easily lead to illegal material. The judge, Recorder Francis Abbott, advised Sparrow to reflect carefully on his actions to prevent any future offenses. He emphasized that Sparrow was not considered a dangerous offender and expressed hope that he would not reoffend.

In a separate but related case in July 2014, Sparrow was again in the spotlight when he was convicted of similar offenses involving child abuse images. During that trial, Sparrow broke down in tears after the jury found him guilty of possessing indecent images on HMS Illustrious. The police had discovered the images on his devices, and Sparrow admitted to viewing adult pornography, claiming he was homosexual. The jury took just an hour and a half to reach a unanimous verdict, convicting him on all six charges.

Following the verdict, Sparrow showed little reaction but was visibly upset in the dock. The judge indicated that he was not inclined to send Sparrow to prison at that time, instead opting to wait for a probation report. Sparrow was ordered to sign the Sex Offenders Register immediately and was released on bail until further arrangements could be made. Witnesses from the ship described how crew members shared hard drives to watch films and TV shows, and one colleague testified that Sparrow lent him a hard drive containing a film of underage boys performing an indecent act, which was later discovered by another crew member. Sparrow explained that he was suspended when the images were found and subsequently left his job at the NAAFI when his pay was stopped. He is now employed at an AA call center in Newcastle, but the court made it clear that he must adhere to the legal restrictions imposed on sex offenders.