Man jailed for five years for child sex offences

A man has been jailed for five years after pleading guilty to making and distributing indecent images of children, possession of prohibited images and possession of extreme pornographic images after appearing at Guildford Crown Court on Tuesday (25 May).

Nicholas Murphy, 65, of Staines-upon-Thames, also pleaded guilty to breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order issued to him following a conviction for distributing indecent images of children in July 2005, which prohibited him from having a computer or internet access at his home address.

Murphy successfully applied to have his Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO), discharged at Guildford Crown Court on 12 February 2020.

In July 2020, Surrey Police received information that the user of an email address linked to Murphy had uploaded indecent images of children to the internet in June and July 2019.

On Tuesday 8 September 2020, officers from the Online Paedophile Investigation Team carried out a warrant at his home address and he was arrested on suspicion of making and distributing indecent images of children.

A mobile phone was also found at his address and following examination, was found to contain hundreds of images and video footage, including prohibited and extreme images.

A message was also found on the same phone which showed that Murphy had communicated with another man and made comments about raping children.

A number of chat conversations were also identified where the users of the group had shared indecent images of children, with some of the conversations involving several hundred participants.

PC Callum Darby from the Paedophile Online Investigation Team, said: “Murphy was already the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, which prevented him from having a computer or internet access, when it came to light that he was offending again. As the investigation unfolded, we uncovered hundreds of indecent images and footage of children on his phone which he was sharing with hundreds of other people. We also found extreme pornographic and prohibited images on the same phone.

“The sentence given to Murphy this week demonstrates our commitment to ensuring those who take part in such vile and predatory practices at the expense of innocent children are brought to justice.”