Man Admits to Possessing Child Abuse Images, Ordered to 'Get Some Fresh Air'

Simon Pritchett, 46, of Withernsea, East Yorkshire, pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children and one count of possessing extreme pornography involving animals.

Hull Crown Court heard that police were alerted to images on the internet, including Snapchat, in February 2022. They seized Pritchett's mobile phone, laptop, computer, and hard drive, all of which contained illicit images.

There were 157 images of children in the most serious Category A, 82 in Category B, and 91 in Category C, along with images of bestiality.

Pritchett initially denied distributing the images but later admitted to having an interest in bestiality. He claimed he was sent the images by a stranger but closed them and sent them back, telling the person on Snapchat to "f*** off."

Judge Mark Bury told Pritchett, "I suggest you get out more. What you have been doing over an 18-month period is downloading and retaining indecent images of children and extreme pornography images. You must understand that the seriousness of this offending is that each image that you have possession of represents an image of an abuse of a child."

Pritchett was given 30 days' rehabilitation and a five-year sexual harm prevention order. A deprivation order was made for his computer equipment. Judge Bury warned, "If there is any repetition of it, next time it won't be a community order, it will be a prison sentence."