A serial south Essex sex offender, Barry Mills, aged 60, has been jailed once again following his arrest on a boat off Canvey Island. Police from Essex and Sussex raided the vessel on 16 December 2023, discovering a significant stash of indecent images and videos of children as young as two being sexually abused. The materials included both digital files on a Samsung phone and tablet, as well as hard copy photographs, one of which was stored in a toilet accessible to the public.
At Basildon Crown Court on 2 February 2024, Recorder Emma Nash sentenced Mills to 20 months in prison. The court heard that Mills had a extensive criminal history, with convictions for 75 previous offences, many of which were sexual in nature. His prior convictions dated back to 1985, when, aged 18, he was convicted of indecent assault on a child under 14. In 1990, he faced charges for possessing indecent images of children and indecent assault on a child under 16. Most notably, in 1994 at Chelmsford Crown Court, Mills received an eight-year prison sentence for offences including indecent exposure, possessing indecent images, gross indecency with a child, and multiple indecent assaults on children under 14. After a period of approximately 20 years without reoffending, he was prosecuted in 2017 for indecent exposure and received a suspended sentence.
Prosecutor Richard Scott detailed the findings from the raid: over 500 category C images, 98 category B images, and more than 100 category A images, including videos showing discernible pain and distress to the vulnerable child victims. Additional items included extreme pornography and a prohibited image of a child. Digital analysis revealed that some images were downloaded between 2015 and 2018, with others acquired more recently via the Telegram messaging app. Metadata indicated access to a category A image as recently as June 2023. Scott emphasised Mills' clear history of sexual offending against children as a key aggravating factor.
Defence barrister Kerrie Rowan argued that Mills' early life was marked by trauma, abuse, and instability, which remained unresolved and contributed to his struggles. She highlighted his capacity for rehabilitation, noting the 20-year offence-free period following his 1994 sentence, which ended due to personal upheaval. Rowan suggested that stringent court orders, heavy probation intervention, and rehabilitation could prevent reoffending, expressing hope for another long period without court appearances. However, Recorder Nash rejected this, citing a probation pre-sentence report that indicated poor compliance with prior supervision and an ongoing high risk of sexual offending against children. Nash noted Mills' use of pseudonyms on Facebook and Grindr, and his admission to storing a severe hard copy image in a public toilet.
In addition to the custodial sentence, Mills was made subject to a ten-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order, prohibiting contact with anyone under 18 without prior approval from local police and a parent or guardian fully informed of his criminal record. Mills appeared via prison video link and showed no emotion as the sentence was delivered. The case was reported by Charles Thomson, Crime & Investigations Reporter for the Echo News, based on court proceedings at Basildon Crown Court.