Man Jailed for 10 Years for Sexually Abusing Children and Possessing Indecent Images

A 69-year-old man, William Smith, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for sexually abusing two children and possessing over 2,000 indecent images of children. Smith, formerly of Oak Close in Tidworth, was sentenced at Salisbury Crown Court on April 19.

Smith had previously pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual activity with a child under the age of 13, three counts of making indecent images of children (316 graded as Category A, 693 graded as Category B and 1,473 graded as Category C) and one count of being in possession of 79 prohibited images of children.

In addition to the prison sentence, Smith was also given a sexual harm prevention order and will be required to register as a sex offender. His conviction stemmed from an initial investigation by another police force, where Smith was found to be openly discussing the sexual abuse of children online.

Smith believed he was communicating with another sex offender, but he was actually speaking to an undercover police operative. He was subsequently arrested when he traveled to meet this contact with the intention of committing further sexual offenses. He was later jailed for those offenses.

Following this arrest, Wiltshire Police were informed of potential offenses committed in the county, including Smith's admissions about abusing children in Wiltshire. Officers executed a warrant at his home in Tidworth and seized devices for evidence. They also made contact with the families of the children they believed he had abused.

During the investigation, Wiltshire Police uncovered more than 2,000 indecent images of children downloaded by Smith. Detective Constable Justine Parsons from Wiltshire Police's Child Internet Exploitation Team stated:

"When Smith's mobile phones were examined, we uncovered more than 2,000 indecent images of children which he had downloaded, including 316 which were categorised as depicting the most serious abuse of children. Our enquiries also led us to two people, one of whom is still a child, who were sexually abused by Smith and they very bravely told us what had happened to them, re-living some very traumatic and upsetting experiences they had been subjected to. I want to pay tribute to these two victims and their families. We know how incredibly hard it is for people to speak out about sexual abuse, particularly when this is something which has happened to them as young children, and I applaud their bravery and resilience during such a difficult time."