Emilio Calderon

On December 14, 2022, Emilio Calderon, aged 30 from Gordon Street in Doncaster, was sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court for distributing and making indecent images of children. Police executed a search warrant at his home on March 23, 2021, where he lived alone, and seized various devices including a drive system and two mobile phones. Analysis revealed 357 category A (most serious), 275 category B, and 297 category C indecent images of children, some featuring children as young as a four-month-old baby and up to age 15.

Prosecuting barrister Zaiban Alam detailed that Calderon had used search terms indicative of seeking indecent images and engaged in a conversation with a contact expressing mutual desire to have sex with a pre-teenage youngster. The devices also showed evidence of long-term viewing of such material, including the use of the Tor programme to access content anonymously. Calderon, with no previous convictions, pleaded guilty to one count of distributing category A indecent images, one count of distributing category C, and three counts of making indecent images across categories A, B, and C.

Defence barrister Richard Etherington conveyed Calderon's disgust and shame, claiming his conversations were mere 'role play'. Etherington noted Calderon's role as a team leader at Amazon, his pursuit of a business degree, and aspirations to open a restaurant. Judge Rachael Harrison sentenced him to two years and two months' custody, stating, 'Present on at least one of your devices was the Tor programme, which allows you to go looking without getting caught.' She highlighted how such offending supports a market producing indecent images, contributing to children's abuse.

Calderon was subjected to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and added to the sex offenders’ register. This case, reported by Sarah Marshall in The Star on January 31, 2023, illustrates the court's response to the distribution of child abuse material in South Yorkshire, emphasising the real victims behind the images.