Roy Dean

A 63-year-old man from Huntington, near York, has been sentenced for possessing indecent images of children after downloading more than 100 such images over a five-year period. Roy Dean, of Broome Close, Huntington, pleaded guilty to three charges of having indecent images of children at York Crown Court. The case came to light following a police raid on his home, prompted by intelligence that sexual images of children had been downloaded at his address.

Prosecutor Patrick Palmer told the court that on May 7, 2023, officers from North Yorkshire Police executed a search warrant at Dean's residence after reports of illegal downloads on March 14, 2023. During the initial interview, Dean claimed he had only been viewing adult pornography and described the images on his computer as 'titillating and entertaining'. He attempted to shift blame by suggesting others had access to his desktop computer, but later admitted he was the sole user. Police seized the desktop computer and several USB sticks, uncovering 36 images in the most severe category depicting the worst kind of sexual abuse, 19 in the next category, and 87 in the least severe, all downloaded between 2015 and 2020. Evidence also showed Dean had actively searched for sexual images of children.

Judge Simon Hickey, addressing Dean during sentencing, remarked: 'Until people like you stop looking at such images the market in them continues to thrive.' He highlighted an aggravating feature, stating: 'An aggravating feature which I don't like in this case is if you suggested others had access to your material or your desktop, something you now resile from.' Despite the seriousness, Dean received an eight-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, on condition he completes 40 days of rehabilitation activities. He was also added to the sex offenders register and subjected to a sexual harm prevention order for 10 years, restricting his internet use.

Defence representative Graham Parkin informed the court that Dean had been working on addressing his sexual behaviour since his arrest. The sentencing reflects efforts to rehabilitate while acknowledging the harm caused by demand for such material, as reported in the York Press on the details of the case from York Crown Court proceedings.