A 53-year-old man from Abergele, Gary Johnson, was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison at Caernarfon Crown Court on March 23 for creating over 800 indecent images of children.

Johnson's home was searched by North Wales Police on January 5, 2022, following a referral from the National Crime Agency. His phone and laptop were seized, revealing a collection of images he had made himself, primarily depicting females aged three to seven, with the youngest child being two years old.

Some of the images depicted children in distress, while others showed a different child tied up and being abused. Additional images were digitally modified photographs of childhood pictures, known as pseudo images.

Johnson had created an online message thread using the app "Kik," inviting others to share similar photos. When interviewed by police in October 2022, he denied being sexually attracted to children but admitted to being attracted to one of the people he had digitally modified images of.

One of Johnson's victims provided a statement describing the serious mental health issues they had suffered as a result of his actions. The victim felt "completely betrayed," "angry," "scared," and "violated," adding that "This whole process has made me question who I trust. These images were made on a public forum, and I had no control over who viewed them."

Johnson pleaded guilty and expressed remorse for his actions. He had completed a course with the Lucy Faithfull Foundation, a charity dedicated to preventing child sexual abuse.

Judge Nicola Saffman sentenced Johnson, stating that the images depicted "real children being raped, being abused, being tortured... this is not a victimless crime. Real children suffered as a result of what you sought out." She further described Johnson and his online community as "paedophiles" due to their active involvement in the creation and sharing of child abuse images.

Johnson was also handed an indefinite restraining order and a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO), prohibiting him from accessing the internet without supervision, possessing devices capable of storing images, or contacting children under the age of 18.

The judge addressed the victim in court, acknowledging their courage and urging them not to be "crushed by this." She also emphasized the importance of reporting child abuse to authorities.