Paedophile who had been making indecent images of children since 2007 has been jailed.

A 39-year-old man from Cheshire, Simon Tomkins, has been sentenced to two years in prison for possessing indecent images of children.

Tomkins pleaded guilty to multiple charges related to making, possessing, and distributing indecent images of children. The charges stem from a police investigation that began in October 2019, when authorities received information suggesting Tomkins was accessing indecent images online.

During a search of his home, police seized seven electronic devices, all of which contained a vast collection of indecent images. The images, categorized by severity, included 222 category A images (the most severe category involving child rape), 358 category B images, and 10,710 category C images.

The court heard that Tomkins had been collecting these images for over a decade, dating back to 2007. He had organized them into folders under "genres" or girls' names to allow for quick access. Some of the folders were password protected, indicating a deliberate attempt to conceal his activities.

The sheer volume of images found on Tomkins' devices was staggering. Cheshire Police stopped categorizing them after finding a certain number of category A images, but it is believed that "well over" 100,000 images and videos were found in total.

The investigation revealed that Tomkins had been using messaging platforms like Kik Messenger and Skype to engage in sexually explicit conversations with other users, including instances where he pretended to be a 14-year-old girl.

In sentencing Tomkins, Judge Ian Harris highlighted the profound impact these offenses have on the child victims in the images. He emphasized that the children are being sexually exploited and are highly vulnerable, suffering long-term trauma as a result of these actions.

In addition to the prison sentence, Tomkins was also issued a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order and will be required to comply with notification requirements of the sex offender register for the same duration.