Tim Stephens

A former world karate champion and instructor from Poole has been sentenced to 30 months in prison following his admission to a series of child sex offences committed between 2005 and 2011. Tim Stephens, aged 50, pleaded guilty to 43 charges at Bournemouth Crown Court, which included attempts to cause a child to watch a sexual act, voyeurism, distributing and making indecent images of children, taking indecent photographs, and possession of a vast collection of such material.

The court heard that police discovered more than 38,000 indecent images of children stored on hard drives and computers in an upstairs bedroom at Stephens' home on Alcester Road, Poole. These images comprised both still photographs and moving footage, amassed over several years. Although none of the offences were directly linked to his karate classes, Stephens had attempted to send an indecent picture of himself via mobile phone to one of his pupils; however, the recipient's phone model did not support picture messages, preventing the transmission.

Stephens, who represented Great Britain in karate during the 1980s and retired as world number one after winning three world championships, had a 25-year coaching career in the Poole area. Prosecutor Mark Worsley described the case as an 'obsession which he allowed to get out of control', noting that analysing the images had severely strained the resources of Dorset Police's hi-tech crime unit. Julia Woodward from the Crown Prosecution Service highlighted Stephens' local fame as a karate teacher, stating: 'He was well known in the community... and there is no doubt that he used this local fame to gain the confidence of many.'

Judge Peter Johnson characterised the offences as a 'catalogue of criminality' during the sentencing. In addition to the custodial sentence, Stephens was banned from working with children and placed on the sex offenders register for life. The arrest occurred in July 2012, with guilty pleas entered at a hearing in February 2013. This case, reported by the BBC, underscores the hidden criminal activities behind a respected community figure, as investigated by Dorset Police.