Man left printouts of indecent images of children on public train.

Depraved Man Avoids Prison for Distributing Graphic Images of Children on Trains

A 38-year-old man, Steve Blackthorne, from Winchester, has been sentenced to two years in prison, suspended for two years, after pleading guilty to making and distributing indecent photographs/pseudo-photographs of a child. He was found to have handed out graphic images of children on trains, leaving multiple people traumatized.

Blackthorne's actions were described as "depraved" by investigating officer, Detective Constable Phil James, who said that the images left those who inadvertently saw them deeply traumatized.

The incident occurred on January 23, 2022, when a train guard on a journey from Basingstoke was handed six pages of A4 sheets by a passenger. These pages contained 16 Category A, five Category B, and 16 Category C indecent images of children. The guard was left in tears and reported the incident to British Transport Police.

On January 31, a train cleaner found another batch of images left on a folding table, which also included 16 Category A, five Category B, and 16 Category C indecent images. The cleaner reported the incident to his manager.

CCTV footage later identified Blackthorne as the person who left the printouts on the train. He was arrested on March 14 at Basingstoke railway station. A search of his phone and laptop revealed a significant number of indecent images, including 60 Category A, 27 Category B, and 81 Category C images. Further sickening images were found on a portable computer at his home.

Blackthorne admitted during a police interview that he had printed out the images at work from a work device. DC James stated that Blackthorne showed no remorse for his actions, transferring the images to a work computer so he could print them out and view them at his leisure.

Blackthorne will be placed on the Sex Offenders Register for 10 years and issued a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for the same period. He will be sent to prison if he commits any further offenses within the two-year timeframe of his suspended sentence.