A former sergeant in the Spanish army, Gabriel Gonzalez, has been sentenced to 44 months in prison for possessing, making, and distributing indecent images of children, as well as possessing extreme pornography. The case, heard at Luton Crown Court on 3 February 2022, involved some of the most horrific child abuse material encountered by investigating officers from Bedfordshire Police.
The investigation began on 18 October 2018, when police raided a multi-occupancy house in Campbell Road, Bedford, acting on intelligence about child exploitation material. Officers seized a laptop and three hard drives from Gonzalez's room. Although he was not present at the time, Gonzalez handed himself in to authorities later that day. During questioning, he made no comment.
Forensic examination of the devices revealed a substantial collection of abusive content: 404 images and 182 videos totalling 20 hours in length, with the longest video exceeding three hours. Among the material was the 17-minute 'Daisy’s Destruction' video, which depicts the sadistic torture and abuse of an 18-month-old girl. The police officer who viewed it described it as the worst he had seen in his five years in the role, advising colleagues not to watch it due to its extreme nature. Prosecutor Alex Kettle-Williams told the court that Gonzalez had distributed nine Category A (most serious) moving images and three Category B images to other paedophiles. He had downloaded 85 Category A still and moving images, 65 Category B, and 379 Category C images, plus 57 images of extreme pornography. The files were disguised under names of music albums to evade detection.
Gonzalez, originally from Spain and now residing in Pine Road, Didsbury, Manchester, used search terms like 'sadistic', 'torture', and 'snuff' to acquire the material. The content primarily involved pre-pubescent girls in distress, including scenes of pain, crying, bestiality, and torture. Gonzalez had no prior convictions in England, Wales, or Spain. He pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity to two counts of distributing indecent images of children, three counts of making (downloading) such images, and one count of possessing extreme pornography.
In mitigation, defence barrister Richard Saynor highlighted Gonzalez's successful military career, where he rose to sergeant, and his subsequent qualifications in psychology, which led to employment assisting adults with autism in the UK. Following his arrest, Gonzalez relocated to Manchester and worked at a car wash. In a letter to the judge, he expressed remorse, stating: “Serving as a sergeant taught me strong standards of protecting community and having personal integrity. I realise in the position I am in today I have fallen far from those high standards. I wanted to apologise to all the victims in this case.”
Recorder Bal Dhaliwal condemned the offences, particularly referencing the 'Daisy’s Destruction' video: “This was the horrific, sadistic and tortured abuse of a completely vulnerable child of 18 months. The investigating officer stated it was the worst he had seen in his five years in this role. He said other officers should not have sight of it. The abuse was beyond words.” The judge ordered the forfeiture and destruction of the seized devices. Gonzalez is subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, barred from working with children or vulnerable adults, and must register as a sex offender indefinitely.
This sentencing follows recent convictions of a Bedford couple, Nicholas Harris and Clare Buttrice, who received a combined 35 years for child sexual and mental abuse. The case underscores ongoing efforts by Bedfordshire Police to combat child sexual exploitation.