Richard Copeland

Richard Copeland, aged 34, of Pine View in Stanley, appeared before Newton Aycliffe Magistrates’ Court on 30 April 2025 where he admitted possession of two Category A images, two Category B images and a prohibited image.

The court heard that Copeland’s home was raided in January 2023 after police identified him as having accessed child abuse material online. When officers seized his laptop, Copeland provided his password and claimed he had accidentally downloaded the material while attempting to obtain Game of Thrones content.

Prosecutor James Gallagher told the court: “He told officers that the laptop they seized was his and he provided a password to allow access to it. When advised the laptop would be searched, he told them – ‘I tried to download Game of Thrones and may have downloaded content by mistake.’” Hundreds of emails recovered from the device linked Copeland directly to the laptop.

Mitigating, Amrit Jandoo described the Game of Thrones excuse as “clearly pathetic” and noted that Copeland had pleaded guilty at the first opportunity and had no previous convictions.

Chairwoman of the bench Mrs Julie Pikesley told Copeland that although the offending crossed the custody threshold, the sentence would be suspended due to his previous good character. She stated: “We know you have no previous convictions on your record and you accepted what you had done – your initial excuse about Game of Thrones was clearly not credible.”

Copeland was sentenced to 14 weeks’ custody, suspended for 15 months, and ordered to complete 20 rehabilitation activity days. He was also made subject to a seven-year sexual harm prevention order, required to sign the sex offenders’ register for seven years, and ordered to pay £239 in court costs.