Police found 40,000 child-porn images on Whitby man's mobile phone

A 58-year-old man who had over 40,000 child-porn images on his phone has been told to expect a lengthy prison sentence.
York Crown CourtYork Crown Court
York Crown Court

Richard Clark, from Whitby, appeared via video link at York Crown Court for what was due to be a sentence hearing on Wednesday, but yet another adjournment was ordered because the prosecution case wasn’t ready.

Clark, of York Terrace, had pleaded guilty in October to three counts of making indecent images and three counts of arranging or facilitating the commission of a child-sex offence.

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Prosecutor Camille Morland said police found more than 40,000 indecent photos on Clark’s mobile phone.

She said there was also evidence that Clark had used that phone to communicate with a child.

Ms Moreland said the adjournments since Clark’s guilty pleas had been chiefly caused by the sheer number of illegal images on his phone.

Clark had been due to be sentenced in December, but the prosecution asked for an adjournment for “further enquiries” at the behest of police.

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Ms Morland asked for another thee-month adjournment on Wednesday to give the prosecution time to compile all the evidence.

Defence barrister Ben Thomas said his client had been on remand in Hull Prison for the past four months and urged the court to move straight to sentence.

But Judge Andrew Stubbs QC “reluctantly” agreed to adjourn sentence to May 13, while expressing his exasperation at the repeated adjournments.

He said the case had “not been investigated as quickly as it should have been”.

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He remanded Clark in prison until the sentence hearing and warned him it was “highly likely” that he would receive an extended jail term.

If you are concerned about what you are looking at online, or the online behaviour of someone you know, you can call the confidential and anonymous ‘Stop It Now’ helpline on 0808 1000 900 for advice, support and help to stop. Or visithttps://get-help.stopitnow.org.uk/ to find out more.