TERENCE COX IN REFERENCE TO REDDITCH AND CHILD INDECENCY OFFENSES

In July 2014, a Redditch man, Terence Cox, was spared immediate imprisonment and instead received a community order after admitting to possessing thousands of indecent images of children. Cox, aged 62, pleaded guilty to having over 4,000 such images when police raided his home on Fulbrook Close on October 11, 2012. The images included 3,657 at the least serious level one, 23 at level four, and none at the most severe level five. Additionally, he had a hundred moving images of children and 210 extreme pornographic pictures, Worcester Crown Court heard from prosecutor Christopher Lester.

Martin Butterworth, Cox's defense lawyer, stated that Cox had previously served an 18-month jail term in 2003 for similar offences but had not received any treatment at that time. Cox admitted that he derived sexual satisfaction from viewing child images and expressed willingness to seek help. It was noted he was on pension credit, and his wife was in poor health.

Judge Michael Cullum emphasized the gravity of the offences, highlighting that the images depicted real children being abused, which causes lifelong damage. He said, "You are the market for these pictures. It is your fault. You bear a heavy responsibility." Concluding that treatment would be more beneficial than prison, the judge sentenced Cox to a three-year community order with supervision and mandated completion of a sex offenders group program. Additionally, Cox was issued a sexual offences prevention order restricting his computer access for 10 years, ordered to register as a sex offender for five years, and required to pay £500 toward costs.

In March 2014, Cox faced further legal proceedings at Redditch Magistrates’ Court. He was charged with possessing more than 3,500 indecent photographs of a child. Specifically, he faced counts including making 3,693 level one indecent images of a child between May 27, 2011, and September 29, 2012, along with possession of 230 level two, nine level three, and 39 level four images within the same period. The images were categorized based on severity from one to five.

Cox was also accused of possessing banned images and 210 extreme pornographic movies involving animals as of October 11, 2012. He did not enter a plea and was released on conditional bail to appear at Worcester Crown Court on June 30. Magistrates instructed him not to contact anyone under 17 unless supervised by an approved authority.

Looking back at his earlier conviction, Cox was jailed for 18 months in 2003 for possession of indecent images of children. During that year, another Redditch man, Paul Anthony Donnelly, 27, from Evesham Mews, was sentenced to a three-year rehabilitation order and placed on the sex offenders register. The 2003 arrests stemmed from police investigations involving multiple individuals, including Cox. Police found indecent images on both Cox’s home computers and workplace devices, and he was also found with images stored on CD-ROMs.

This operation involved approximately 84 arrests across Herefordshire, Worcestershire, and Shropshire over four months, with investigations ongoing at the time. Both Cox and Donnelly were scheduled for sentencing on April 9, 2003, as part of this major police crackdown on suspected paedophiles and their activities.