Dean Guest

A 41-year-old man from Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, faces sentencing at Ipswich Crown Court after being convicted of attempting to import a child-like sex doll and admitting to possessing a large number of indecent images of children.

Dean Guest, of Shakeroo Road, Bury St Edmunds, was found guilty at Suffolk Magistrates' Court on 22 June following a trial for attempting to have the sex doll delivered to his home from Hong Kong. The doll, measuring around 100cm in height, was seized by Border Force officials at Stansted Airport on 11 February this year. The court heard that the doll featured 'light-coloured skin, well-developed breasts and anatomically correct female genitalia'. During the trial, Guest claimed he believed the doll to be an adult one and had been assured by the seller that it was legal in the UK, but magistrates rejected his defence and convicted him.

On Tuesday, Guest appeared at Suffolk Magistrates' Court in Ipswich and pleaded guilty to three charges of making indecent images. Prosecuting, Colette Harper stated that 173 images of the most serious kind—category A—were discovered on Guest's phone and devices following their seizure. Additionally, 167 category B images and 381 category C images were found. The court also addressed Guest's previous admissions to possessing cannabis and his denial of breaching a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO), which had been imposed after an earlier conviction. He was found guilty of the SHPO breach after a trial, with evidence presented that police visited his home on 18 February and discovered a damaged mobile phone in a cupboard, which prosecutors alleged he had intentionally damaged to hinder examination.

Magistrates committed the case to Ipswich Crown Court for sentencing, noting that an all-options pre-sentence report had been ordered but required amendment to include the indecent images offences. Guest was granted conditional bail and is scheduled to appear for sentencing on a date to be fixed. This case highlights ongoing efforts by Border Force and law enforcement to combat the importation and possession of materials related to child sexual exploitation.