In a case highlighting significant investigative delays, Toni Prince, a 55-year-old resident of Sheffield identifying as a woman, was sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court for possessing and making indecent images of children. Prince, whose legal forename is Anthony, admitted to downloading a total of 1,191 indecent images, including 108 category A images—the most serious classification—depicting children as young as five being subjected to rape and other abuses. Additionally, police discovered 90 category B images, 993 category C images, 53 extreme pornographic images, and 337 prohibited non-photographic images such as cartoons and drawings during a raid on her home on Infirmary Road, Upperthorpe.
The investigation began with Prince's arrest on 14 June 2016, following reports that led South Yorkshire Police to her residence. During the search, officers not only seized the digital devices containing the illicit material but also found an 'extremely unsettling' handwritten table in her bedside drawer listing words like 'rape' and 'torture'. Prince's possession of these materials constituted offences under UK law, where 'making' indecent images includes downloading them. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) defines prohibited images as non-photographic representations of child sexual abuse.
Despite the severity of the crimes, Judge Peter Kelson QC imposed a lenient sentence, citing an 'unjust delay' by South Yorkshire Police that he described as 'entirely' their fault and amounting to 'negligence'. South Yorkshire Police initially submitted a file to the CPS on 5 August 2016 but failed to provide required details on the content of the seized devices. It took until 15 August 2018—over two years later—for the police to resubmit the file with the necessary evidence, delaying Prince's first court appearance until 16 April 2019. Judge Kelson noted, 'When there has been, as there clearly has been here, an unjust delay which is not in any way, shape or form your fault, I’m bound by the law to take it into account, and I do so.' He described the case as 'very serious' but suspended the sentence due to the delay.
Prince was sentenced to six months' imprisonment, suspended for one year, meaning she avoids immediate custody provided she commits no further offences within 12 months. She was also subjected to a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) to restrict her activities and manage risk, alongside a 34-day rehabilitation activity requirement to address underlying issues. Defence barrister Ian Goldsack highlighted Prince's history as a victim of childhood abuse and her proactive efforts post-arrest, including voluntary counselling sessions. A counsellor's statement described Prince as the 'most vulnerable client we have worked with in terms of the effect of her early trauma on her mental and physical health' but praised her as the most 'committed' to recovery. The University of Sheffield, where Prince was pursuing a PhD, was informed of the arrest but received misleading information from police in 2018 that no charges would be filed, further complicating her situation.
Prosecutor Gurdial Singh bluntly attributed the delay to police negligence. This case, reported by The Star on 19 July 2019, underscores systemic issues in handling child sexual exploitation cases, with Prince's suspended sentence sparking debate on balancing offender rehabilitation against public protection.