Thomas Gale

A 28-year-old man from Banbury, Oxfordshire, has been spared immediate imprisonment after admitting to serious child sex offences at Oxford Crown Court.

Thomas Gale, residing in Parklands, Banbury, pleaded guilty to one count of attempting to arrange or facilitate the commission of a child sex offence between 13 October and 24 October 2022. The offence involved Gale attempting to arrange the rape of a child under 13 in Liphook, Hampshire. Unbeknownst to him, this was part of a covert police operation where an undercover officer posed as a sex offender on a child pornography website. The officer indicated a desire to abuse his non-existent 13-year-old daughter, prompting Gale to engage further by moving the conversation to Twitter and asserting he could arrange the abuse. He even researched hotel prices in the area and admitted to possessing child pornography.

In addition to the lead offence, Gale faced three further counts related to child pornography discovered on his seized devices, including a mobile phone and an electronic tablet. Prosecuting counsel Adam Williams, on behalf of the Crown, detailed that the devices contained 135 category A pictures and videos, 44 category B images, and 50 category C images and videos. Further extreme videos were found but not included in the charges.

Gale was arrested on 29 November 2022 and made his first court appearance at Oxford Magistrates' Court on 18 February 2024. Representing the defendant, Marie-Armance Renaud highlighted that Gale had not reoffended in the two years since the incidents and had participated in rehabilitation programmes to prevent future crimes. She conveyed his remorse, stating he was trying to change his life after a low point in 2022.

In sentencing remarks on 22 May 2024, Recorder James Hay opted not to impose immediate custody, noting: 'I am not going to be sending you to prison today. You seem to have done everything you could have done, that anyone could hope you would do, in order to put these offences behind you.' Gale received a two-year custodial sentence for the primary offence, with concurrent terms for the pornography counts, suspended for two years. He was also ordered to complete a rehabilitation programme, undertake 150 hours of unpaid work, and a Sexual Harm Prevention Order was imposed for 10 years.

The case was handled by Thames Valley Police as part of their efforts to combat online child sexual exploitation.