GUILDFORD MAN STEPHEN MORRIS SENTENCED FOR RECORD CHILD PORNOGRAPHY CASE IN THE UK

In October 1997, Guildford Crown Court revealed that Stephen Morris, 38, had amassed the largest collection of child pornography ever discovered in the UK on his computer. Morris, who worked as a supermarket provisions manager and resided on Bradfield Close in Guildford, admitted to ten charges of publishing obscene material between February 28 of the previous year and April 18 of this year.

Judge Michael Addison addressed Morris directly, stating, "This was paedophile material you were sending on the Internet. You set up a website for other users to view these pictures. The site could be accessed by a ring of paedophiles, and you downloaded a vast quantity of material. You did not do it for financial gain but for sexual gratification. It was relatively easy for people to obtain access to this site. There is no doubt that pictures of this type will encourage the commission of offences against children. Unless the courts make it plain that these offences will be punished by imprisonment, there will be an unstoppable amount of this material."

Prosecutor Richard Whittam explained that the case involved the transmission of paedophile content over the Internet. The charges Morris admitted were only part of the evidence. When police searched Morris's home on April 17, they discovered approximately 32,000 still images, 100 downloaded films, and 817 text files containing obscene stories.

The online system Morris created had been active since February 1996 and remained operational until the police raid. Morris would turn his computer on, allowing paedophiles who knew his address, identity, and password to access and download the content he had stored, facilitating communication and exchange among offenders. Morris's awareness of these communications indicated he knowingly supported this network.

Although not all of the images stored were obscene, a significant portion involved illegal sexual acts, including oral sex, bondage, and other serious offences, mostly featuring male children, with some images of girls. Mr. Whittam emphasized that Morris was doing this for sexual gratification.

He stated, "Purely on the scale of things, the quantity of obscene material discovered by the police was the greatest quantity that has ever been found in the UK in numerical terms."

Defence lawyer Howard Jones argued that Morris had already suffered personal consequences from his arrest, losing his good character and career, which would impact him alongside any punishment. He described Morris as a man with limited sexual experience, engaged to a woman for ten years before living independently. Jones explained that most of the material came from a single North American source, with Morris allowing a small group of about seven people to access his downloads. He characterized Morris's interest as collector-like and asserted that he did not aim to profit or produce the images himself.

The court ultimately sentenced Morris to six months in prison.