June 2015

Stockton man caught with almost 10,000 indecent pictures of children

An international investigation led police to the door of a man caught with almost 10,000 indecent pictures of children.

Christopher Whelan, 31, has been ordered to undergo a sex offender treatment programme after police discovered 9,964 illegal images of children on his computers.

Officers found 9,881 of the pictures on a hard drive and another 83 on a laptop seized from his Stockton home.

He said in interview he thought the images were “art” and it appeared to him the children involved were consenting.

Whelan, of Durham Road, Stockton, admitted two charges of making indecent photographs of children and one of possessing prohibited images of children.

He had no previous convictions and appeared upset and tearful in the dock as he faced sentence today.

Kelleigh Lodge, defending, said: “He is genuinely sorry for this behaviour.

“He does accept that clearly there is an issue that he does have and he does need to address and he should seek help in that area.

“He is willing and motivated to address the issues and abide by any order of the court.

“He was in employment but unfortunately as a result of these offences taking place he lost that employment he’d had for 11 years since he left college.”

She said he was candid, honest and cooperative and had the support of his parents, with whom he lived.

She added the case hung over his head for more than a year since the police search on January 28 last year.

Judge Tony Briggs told Whelan: “You were in possession of a lot of indecent images but it’s right to say that most of them were in a relatively modest category.

“Whatever category they are, they’re always distressing and upsetting.

“In your favour, you’re of hitherto good character, you seem to be expressing remorse for your behaviour and you are willing to make an effort to change.

“All those matters are important matters and entitle me to suspend the sentence.”

Whelan was given a six-month prison term suspended for two years with supervision and a sex offenders’ treatment programme.

He was given a sexual harm prevention order and will be on the sex offenders’ register, each for seven years.