Martin Adrian Johnson

A 50-year-old man from Rhyl, Denbighshire, has been sentenced to imprisonment for possessing and distributing child abuse images. Martin Adrian Johnson, formerly a refuse collector with no prior criminal record, admitted to 17 charges related to indecent images and movies of children, some involving sexual acts with animals.

The offences occurred between January 2012 and February 2015. Johnson downloaded 1,032 still images and 925 movies, many categorised as the most severe. He also possessed 583 extreme movies depicting acts between humans and animals. Additionally, he distributed indecent images of girls as young as three via Skype and internet chat rooms, effectively filming himself exchanging the material with others.

Johnson was traced using advanced police software that examined peer-to-peer networks, which he had attempted to disguise with specific routing. North Wales Police identified his IP address on a sharing network, leading to a search of his home at Dyffryn Street in Rhyl, where hundreds of images were found on two laptops. At the time of his arrest, he was of no fixed abode but had been residing in Rhyl.

• Johnson admitted making and possessing indecent images and movies.
• He faced five charges for distribution via online platforms.
• The court heard he spent two to five hours daily on the internet, influenced by loneliness following his second marriage breakdown.

At Mold Crown Court, Judge David Hale sentenced Johnson to three years and four months' imprisonment. The judge remarked, "You had acquired peer to peer software with a particular router that you thought would prevent anyone finding you. It didn’t." He emphasised the gravity of the crimes, stating, "The gravity of the offences was that somewhere in the world, those children had been abused. They went through the greatest misery to provide you with your entertainment. I don’t suppose you ever thought about that."

Defence barrister Simon Killeen described Johnson as a man of good character, married for 20 years with four grown-up children, who lived alone and lost his job due to the investigation. Investigating Officer Detective Sergeant Dave Mills from St Asaph CID welcomed the sentence, saying, "I welcome the sentence and hope this will reinforce our commitment to eradicate all forms of child abuse and relentlessly pursue those in our communities who perpetrate such vile acts. Each and every time an image is taken, uploaded or viewed a child is abused and those who commit such offences must learn there are victims behind each and every image."

The case highlights the effectiveness of new policing tools in tackling online child exploitation, as reported by North Wales Live on 16 December 2015.