Man who lived in Worthing and Chichester jailed for having thousands of child porn images

A man who lived in Worthing and Chichester has been jailed for three years for possessing 3,400 indecent images of children, police said.
Ian Crockford, 47, a computer operator, of Graydon Avenue, Chichester. Picture: Sussex PoliceIan Crockford, 47, a computer operator, of Graydon Avenue, Chichester. Picture: Sussex Police
Ian Crockford, 47, a computer operator, of Graydon Avenue, Chichester. Picture: Sussex Police

Ian Crockford, 47, a computer operator, of Graydon Avenue, Chichester, was sentenced at Hove Crown Court on Tuesday, April 30, having previously pleaded guilty to possession and distribution of indecent images of children, possessing extreme pornographic images and possession of a prohibited image.

He will be a registered sex offender for life and was given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order to last until further court order, severely restricting his access to children and computers, and was also placed on the childrens’ barring list, preventing him from any work with children, Sussex Police said.

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Crockford was arrested at an address where he was then living in Charmandean Road, Worthing, in August 2018, and his computer and related equipment were seized for examination. Officers found that Crockford had more than 3,400 images, police said.

Ian Crockford, 47, a computer operator, of Graydon Avenue, Chichester. Picture: Sussex PoliceIan Crockford, 47, a computer operator, of Graydon Avenue, Chichester. Picture: Sussex Police
Ian Crockford, 47, a computer operator, of Graydon Avenue, Chichester. Picture: Sussex Police

The prosecution followed an intelligence-led investigation by detectives from the Sussex Police Paedophile Investigation Unit (POLIT).

POLIT Detective Sergeant Lou Hays said: ”Our investigation showed that Crockford had been accessing child abuse images of the worst kind for at least ten years. Every image is in effect an abuse of individual children and a criminal offence in its own right.”

None of the images are believed to be of local children and there is no evidence of any contact offending, police confirmed.

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Anyone with information or suspicions about someone accessing images of this kind can contact police at any time online or by calling 101, and can arrange to talk in confidence to experienced investigators.

The sentencing comes as police forces across the South East join the independent charity The Lucy Faithfull Foundation in a campaign to increase awareness of ways in which people can find support to help them stop downloading and viewing such images.

An NSPCC spokesperson said: “It’s important to remember that the vile material that Crockford accessed can only be created by subjecting innocent children to unimaginable abuse and suffering.

“It’s time to stop sickening child abuse images being so readily available at the click of a button.

“That’s why the NSPCC is campaigning for providers to take greater responsibility for what’s shared on their platforms and cut off this vile material at source.”