Caught with indecent images of children.

Sex Offender Jailed for Possession of Child Abuse Images

A sex offender from King's Somborne has been jailed for possessing over 1,000 indecent images of children, many of whom were extremely young.

Timothy Waterman, 36, was sentenced at Southampton Crown Court to 16 months in prison. He was previously given a suspended sentence for inappropriately touching a young boy he was babysitting.

Police visited Waterman's address in September 2022 after receiving information that the property had been used to download indecent images. During the search, officers seized a USB stick, tablet, and laptop, which contained a total of 1,300 indecent images, including 462 category A images, the most serious kind.

Prosecutor Roderick Blain described the images as "repulsive" and highlighted that many of the category A images were moving, further aggravating Waterman's offense.

Waterman was also found to have breached a previous sexual harm prevention order by not disclosing the tablet to police during an earlier visit in May 2022.

In mitigation, Chris Gaiger stated that Waterman was seeking help for his addiction through the Lucy Faithful Foundation, an organization dedicated to preventing child sexual abuse.

Judge Peter Henry, in passing sentence, emphasized that Waterman was not the victim in this case, stating, "I read in your pre-sentence report that you have your own problems, but I am afraid you are not the victim here, it is the children."

Waterman's sexual harm prevention order and notification requirements were extended to 10 years from the date of his sentencing.