Dean Faulkner, a 36-year-old man from Bradford, has been sentenced to three years and nine months in prison after authorities discovered a vast collection of indecent images of children on his electronic devices. The images, totalling 21,113, included material depicting children as young as six months old and were downloaded between October 2014 and July 2019. Faulkner accessed this 'base, disgusting and revolting imagery' using the dark web through a private browser, often on a daily basis, and even shared the files with others via file-sharing software.
The case came to light on 19 July 2019 when a police officer visited Faulkner's home on Mayo Avenue to check compliance with his existing sexual harm prevention order, imposed in January 2014 following prior convictions for gross indecency and 21 counts of possession of indecent images of children. During the search of his four electronic devices, including a computer, officers uncovered the extensive cache of still and moving images, as well as prohibited images and extreme pornographic content involving an adult and a dog. Prosecutor Rebecca Young highlighted that Faulkner was actively searching for and downloading this material while his partner of 10 years slept upstairs, demonstrating a blatant disregard for his restrictions.
At Bradford Crown Court on 22 February 2021, Faulkner pleaded guilty to six offences of making indecent photographs of children, possession of prohibited images, possessing an extreme pornographic image, and breaching his sexual offences prevention order. In mitigation, Andrew Semple argued that Faulkner's addiction to pornography worsened after he became redundant, leading to an isolated lifestyle, and noted his candour in accepting the charges and seeking help for his addiction. However, Judge Jonathan Rose rejected these excuses, describing Faulkner as a 'potential danger' and stating: 'You opened your computer to other like-minded paedophiles. You derived sexual pleasure out of watching the abuse and defilement of children in a sexual way. You offended while your partner slept upstairs. You descended into the dark web. You found the most base material you could in a way to avoid detection.'
The judge emphasised the ongoing nature of the offending, which continued until the day of arrest, and criticised Faulkner's lack of efforts to control his behaviour: 'When you were working, you did not give into your sexual interest in children, but once you lost your job you did. This excuse is wholly without merit. Your offending continued up until the day of your arrest. You have taken few, if not any, steps to control your extreme offending. If men like you did not watch it, it would not be made.' In addition to the custodial sentence, Faulkner was placed under a lifelong sexual harm prevention order.
This case was reported by the Bradford Telegraph and Argus on 22 February 2021, based on proceedings at Bradford Crown Court. West Yorkshire Police conducted the investigation, leading to Faulkner's arrest and subsequent prosecution.