ILKESTON MAN SENTENCED FOR POSSESSING THOUSANDS OF CHILD ABUSE IMAGES
A former swimming coach from Ilkeston was caught with more than 13,000 images and films of young boys being sexually abused.Nottingham Crown Court heard how William Pearson exchanged vile messages with another like-minded paedophile about abusing his nephews.
However, the sentencing hearing revealed that this was 'fantasy' as no such relatives actually existed.
The judge, James Sampson, described Pearson's actions: 'You were participating in the sexual abuse of boys and this is a case where over quite a long period of time you made thousands of illegal images of children.' Despite the substantial quantity of illegal material, Pearson was noted to be remorseful and has stayed out of trouble for the past two years.
Police executed a warrant at his address in July 2022, seizing multiple devices containing a large number of indecent images of boys, including 1,982 Category A images and movies, among others.
The youngest victims were aged four to six.
Pearson pleaded guilty to possession of indecent images of children and possession of extreme pornographic images involving animals.
The judge handed him a 14-month jail sentence suspended for 21 months, with 150 hours of unpaid work, 30 rehabilitation sessions, and a 10-year sexual harm prevention order.
He is also to be on the sex offender register for 10 years and barred from working with children.
