EX-POLICEMAN JAILED OVER CHILD PORN
A former police officer has been jailed for making and distributing more than 50,000 images of child
Friday September 2,2011
A former police officer who pleaded guilty to making and distributing more than 50,000 sickening images of child abuse has been jailed for 27 months.
A former police officer who pleaded guilty to making and distributing more than 50,000 sickening images of child abuse has been jailed for 27 months.
Philip Savidge, 26, used the username babypass2004 on a file-sharing website to distribute indecent still and moving images.
He resigned as an acting sergeant with Sussex Police, based at East Grinstead, on the day he was arrested at the home he shared with his parents and brothers.
After seizing two computer hard drives and three memory sticks, police found 52,672 images, some of which were at the highest level five category. His collection, described by a judge as "horrendous", also included 35 extreme pictures involving animals and 1,646 computer-generated indecent images.
Lewes Crown Court heard that Savidge's fascination with child porn spiralled "out of control" and that he felt relieved when he was eventually caught.
Savidge, of Alexandra Road, Burgess Hill, West Sussex, compared his collection to hoarding sporting images and said he started it to cope with stress.
Prosecutor Martin Yale said: "He said that since he became involved in indecent images the situation snowballed and he had collected in his own words 'a fair amount', mainly of young boys."
The ages of the children featured ranged from four to 12. The court heard that Savidge was a Scout leader, working with mainly boys. He also held other positions of trust involving contact with children, including as a cricket coach, teaching children aged eight to 18, and he also worked with police cadets.
On Friday, he pleaded guilty to 42 counts of making and distributing indecent images, and possessing extreme pictures.
Sentencing him, Judge Richard Brown told the ex-policeman: "These are, in my view, wicked and evil offences. Each picture represents a child being abused. There are a horrendous number of images in this case. Although it doesn't influence this case, you, as a police officer, should have realised the seriousness of what you were doing."
Philip Savidge, 26, used the username babypass2004 on a file-sharing website to distribute indecent still and moving images.
He resigned as an acting sergeant with Sussex Police, based at East Grinstead, on the day he was arrested at the home he shared with his parents and brothers.
After seizing two computer hard drives and three memory sticks, police found 52,672 images, some of which were at the highest level five category. His collection, described by a judge as "horrendous", also included 35 extreme pictures involving animals and 1,646 computer-generated indecent images.
Lewes Crown Court heard that Savidge's fascination with child porn spiralled "out of control" and that he felt relieved when he was eventually caught.
Savidge, of Alexandra Road, Burgess Hill, West Sussex, compared his collection to hoarding sporting images and said he started it to cope with stress.
Prosecutor Martin Yale said: "He said that since he became involved in indecent images the situation snowballed and he had collected in his own words 'a fair amount', mainly of young boys."
The ages of the children featured ranged from four to 12. The court heard that Savidge was a Scout leader, working with mainly boys. He also held other positions of trust involving contact with children, including as a cricket coach, teaching children aged eight to 18, and he also worked with police cadets.
On Friday, he pleaded guilty to 42 counts of making and distributing indecent images, and possessing extreme pictures.
Sentencing him, Judge Richard Brown told the ex-policeman: "These are, in my view, wicked and evil offences. Each picture represents a child being abused. There are a horrendous number of images in this case. Although it doesn't influence this case, you, as a police officer, should have realised the seriousness of what you were doing."
http://www.express.co.uk/posts/view/268827/Ex-policeman-jailed-over-child-porn/
