FORMER NEWSAGENT OWNER SENTENCED FOR INDECENT IMAGES
Timothy Gresswell, a resident of Gloucester Green in Oxford, pleaded guilty to three charges related to the creation of indecent images or pseudo-images of children.He was the former proprietor of Tim’s Newsagent and Off Licence located on High Street, which ceased operations in 2022.
This shop had been a prominent fixture in the city since 1939, initially established by Gladys Annett, with Gresswell taking over ownership at a later date.
On May 29, 2025, at Oxford Crown Court, the 69-year-old Gresswell was given a sentence after admitting to downloading a total of 432 Category A images, which included both still and moving pictures.
He also admitted to acquiring 380 Category B and 690 Category C images, again both stills and videos.
The court proceedings revealed that these 1,502 images were accessed over a period from September 18, 2016, to March 25, 2023.
Gresswell was sentenced to 18 months in prison for the Category A images, eight months for Category B, and three months for Category C.
All sentences are to run concurrently but are suspended for two years.
Furthermore, Gresswell is mandated to complete a 30-day sexual harm prevention program.
Authorities also ordered the destruction of a computer seized from his home.
Additionally, he was subject to a sexual harm prevention order and ordered to pay legal costs amounting to £1,000 within 28 days.
During the sentencing hearing, it was disclosed that police visited Gresswell’s residence in April 2023 following received intelligence.
A Dell computer was confiscated and examined, leading to the discovery of the illicit images.
Gresswell initially denied knowing about the material, claiming that he had been hacked.
However, he eventually pleaded guilty.
In interviews with police, Gresswell claimed he could not remember viewing the images, attributing this to alcohol consumption.
The court heard that some images involved children as young as one year old, including a photo of a baby boy and another of a visibly distressed girl.
The images had been downloaded during attempts to view legal pornography.
Despite deleting child images from his device, forensic analysis using specialised software uncovered them.
His legal counsel argued that he did not intentionally delete evidence.
Judge Hassan Khan noted that the offenses spanned over six years, and although Gresswell claimed he was hacked and intoxicated at the time, he ultimately admitted guilt following forensic examination.
The judge acknowledged his good character and suggested that this case might be amenable to rehabilitation.
