Szymon Przybyla

A 43-year-old man from Shepton Mallet, Somerset, narrowly avoided immediate imprisonment after admitting to serious sexual offences involving child pornography and extreme images. Szymon Przybyla, of High Street, appeared before magistrates at Yeovil Magistrates' Court, where he pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children and one count of possessing an extreme pornographic image.

The offences came to light following a police investigation triggered by evidence from the social media platform Snapchat. Avon and Somerset Police arrested Przybyla after discovering over 200 pornographic pictures of children, including 49 in the most serious Category A, 53 in Category B, and 101 in Category C. The images depicted children as young as two years old, with ages ranging up to 14. Additionally, two videos were recovered from his electronic devices showing a person having oral sex with a dog, which Przybyla claimed he had no memory of filming. The extreme image was described as portraying in an explicit and realistic way a person performing oral sex with a live animal, namely a dog, and was deemed grossly offensive, disgusting, or obscene.

Prosecutor Giles Tippett outlined during the hearing that electronic devices belonging to Przybyla were seized, leading to the discovery of the images. 'The images were discovered and found to be of children aged between 2 and 14 years,' Tippett stated. In his police interview, Przybyla explained that the indecent images had been sent to him by as many as 24 different people. Speaking via an interpreter in court, he added that the offences occurred a long time ago and that he had not engaged in any similar activities since then.

The magistrates imposed an 8-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, meaning Przybyla avoided being sent straight to jail. He was also ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work and 35 Rehabilitation Activity Days with the Probation Service. Further measures included placement on the Sex Offenders Register for 10 years and a Sexual Harm Prevention Order with stringent conditions enforced by the police. The case was heard in relation to offences committed on June 1, 2023, at Shepton Mallet.

This incident highlights ongoing efforts by Avon and Somerset Police to combat the distribution and possession of child sexual abuse material online, with Snapchat's reporting mechanisms playing a key role in bringing the case to authorities' attention.