Veterinary Student Sentenced for Possession of Child Abuse Images

Josh Stratford, 24, of Streetly, was sentenced to eight months in jail, suspended for 12 months, after pleading guilty to possessing indecent images of children. The sentence was handed down by Recorder Abigail Nixon at Wolverhampton Crown Court.

The court heard that police investigators received intelligence that Stratford had been using the file-sharing platform Dropbox to transmit child abuse images. A subsequent search of his home uncovered 158 category A images (the most serious), 266 category B images, and 758 category C images on his electronic devices. Some of the images depicted children as young as four.

Prosecuting barrister Miss Amanda O'Mara stated that Stratford refused to provide passcodes for four other devices and remained silent during police interviews. However, officers estimated that he had accessed an additional 141,000 images over a four-year period using the dark web and private networks.

Mitigating barrister Mr Callum Church acknowledged the seriousness of the offenses, stating that there was "no justification or explanation" for Stratford's actions. He highlighted that Stratford had since participated in courses with the child protection charity Lucy Faithfull Foundation.

Recorder Nixon described Stratford's behavior as "perverted" and emphasized the long-term consequences of his actions. In addition to the suspended sentence, Stratford was ordered to complete 100 hours of unpaid work, attend up to 35 activity days to address mental health issues, and pay costs of £425 within three months. He was also placed on the sex offenders' register for 10 years and subjected to a sexual harm prevention order.