Liverpool’s top judge warned the city’s courts are seeing more and more cases of paedophiles being found with images of extremely young children being abused.
The Honorary Recorder of Liverpool, Judge Andrew Menary QC, made the comments on Thursday as he sentenced a man found with images of six month old babies being sexually assaulted. He said the courts were seeing cases where the children being subjected to abuse were getting “ever younger”.
It comes after a series of cases, reported in the ECHO, involving offenders caught with pictures and videos of extremely young kids. The filming and distribution of horrendous sexual abuse of children over the internet has been an issue for decades - but a spate of cases recently have highlighted just how young some of the victims are.
READ MORE: Paedophile walks free after sending images of kids being raped
Matthew Simm, handed a suspended sentence last month, admitted to watching toddlers being abused after police arrested him at his home in Lydiate on May 6 last year. Roy Neilson, who was jailed last month, was found with indecent images of children as young as two as well as a “paedophile manual” which provided advice on how to molest children. The document contained a picture of a child being raped and provided instructions to potential sex offenders.
This week, Warrington’s Joshua Stoll was sentenced by Judge Menary after police found a video of a six month old baby being abused by a man. Addressing the age of some of the children in the videos, Judge Menary said: “That is a trend that this court is seeing in cases like this, with the children involved getting ever younger.”
Handing Stoll a suspended sentence, he said he accepted the 25-year-old's isolation from the outside world was likely a contributing factor and told Stoll he suspected “that you are the type of man that spends a lot of time online in your own virtual world and that has seen you become involved in this troubling trade.”
He said: “Part of the reason you were distributing images is because, in some way, you wanted to be a fully participating member of this group.” Judge Menary also said Stoll was in denial about why he downloaded the images after he apparently told probation officers it was not done with a sexual intent.
The Recorder of Liverpool said: “I do not accept for one minute the continued protestation you make that you have absolutely no sexual interest in children.” Judge Menary said the combination of Stoll’s lack of previous convictions, clear desire to address his behaviour, his mental health diagnoses and his significant role as a carer meant he could suspend his sentence.
Anyone with information or wants to report a sexual offence is asked to call 101 where you will be spoken to by specially trained officers. Or you can pass information to Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.
Support for victims is also available through the registered charity the Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre Cheshire and Merseyside, who can be contacted on 01925 221 546 or 0330 363 0063 or Rape and Sexual Assault Merseyside (RASA) on 0151 558 1801. In an emergency, always call 999.
Anyone concerned about their own behaviour, or that of a family member, can contact stopitnow.org.uk and get-help.stopitnow.org.uk
