Registered sex offender sent back to prison.

63-year-old Sex Offender Sent Back to Prison for Possession of Child Abuse Images

Chris Wells, previously of Northampton, has been sentenced to two years and six months in prison after being found in possession of indecent images of children. This is not the first time Wells has been convicted for similar offences. He was previously convicted in 2007, 2014, and 2021 for possessing indecent images of children.

In 2021, a warrant executed by Northamptonshire Police at Wells' home address resulted in officers finding over 175,000 images on devices seized from his property. This led to his conviction and subsequent prison sentence.

Wells' most recent offending occurred in August and October of this year. During a visit by officers from the Force's MOSOVO (Management of Sexual and Violent Offenders) Team, devices seized from Wells were found to contain 1,957 indecent images of children, 44 of which were Category A images – the most serious category.

Wells was arrested and charged with five counts of possessing indecent images of children and one count of breaching his sexual harm prevention order. He pleaded guilty to all charges at Northampton Crown Court in October.

Ruth Moreton, Wells' Offender Manager, stated: "Chris Wells is a prolific sex offender who has acted with impunity time and time again with regards to downloading indecent images of children. It is our regular unannounced visits that have uncovered his offending, and I am pleased that he has been sent back to prison." She added: "I hope that anyone reading this who downloads similar images takes a lesson from this conviction. We will uncover your offending, and you will be sent to prison. These images wouldn't exist if people like Chris Wells didn't download them, and the suffering that takes place in order to create them cannot be measured."

MOSOVO Detective Sergeant Tom Curlett-New echoed Moreton's sentiments, stating: "The officers in my team see the day-to-day devastation this type of crime causes, and that is why we are so determined to work as hard as possible to put the people who look at these images behind bars."