Registered sex offender jailed for 20 months after being found with 30,000 indecent images of children

Samuel Moodie, 55, of Burton-in-Lonsdale, has been sentenced to 20 months in prison for possessing 30,000 indecent images of children. Moodie was previously convicted in 2017 for similar offenses and was subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) prohibiting him from accessing the internet without notifying police.

Despite the SHPO, Moodie was found to have accessed and saved indecent images of children, including category A, B, and C images, across three devices. He also had a Google Drive cloud account containing such images.

Moodie was found guilty in September of three counts of making indecent images of children, one count of possessing a prohibited image of a child, and breaching his SHPO. He was sentenced at York Crown Court on 10 November 2023.

Detective Constable Kerri Jones from the North Yorkshire Police Online Child Abuse Team stated that Moodie blatantly disregarded the SHPO and continued to access and save harmful images. She emphasized that those who obtain and distribute such materials contribute directly to the sexual exploitation of children.

Jones expressed gratitude for the expertise of the Digital Forensic Unit and the dedication of her colleagues involved in the investigation. She hopes the sentence sends a clear message that authorities will track down and prosecute individuals involved in the creation and sharing of indecent images of children.