Man is jailed for indecent images

A THURCROFT pervert has been jailed after admitting eight charges of making and distributing indecent pictures and videos relating to children.

Keith Leonard Mather, 49, of Elgitha Drive, admitted the offences, which were committed between 1st May 2010 and 17th June 2012, when he appeared at Sheffield Crown Court on 23rd October.

Mather was sentenced to seven six-month prison sentences, to run concurrently, for what Judge Peter Kelson described as ‘profoundly grotesque’ offending.

He was also handed a five-year Sexual Offences Prevention Order, and his name will be added to the Sex Offenders’ Register for a period of two-years.

The case was brought to the attention of officers in the Yorkshire and Humber Regional Policing Team back in 2010 by colleagues from the United States.

Law Enforcement Officers in the States had executed a warrant at the home address of a US national over a similar matter.

During the course of their investigation, which was overseen by the Deputy Sheriff of Missouri Jeremiah Filion, officers discovered an indecent video file which had been sent from Mather’s email address.

Mather was subsequently arrested by UK police in July 2010 on suspicion of possession and distribution of indecent material.

Officers recovered some 46 devices from Mather’s home address including computers, an external hard drive, cameras, disks and iPods. Three of the devices were found to contain indecent material.

A number of indecent images and indecent videos were found on these three devices, which led to Mather being charged with offences relating to the making and distribution of indecent material.

Mather pleaded guilty to all seven charges at his court appearance last month.

Dermot Hughes, defending Mather, told the court: “It was a middle-aged man engaging in fantasies and he didn’t take any steps to act on it.”

Speaking after the sentencing, Dete Chief Supt Clive Wain, Regional Operations Commander, said: “This is a fantastic result for the E-Crime Unit.”

“We are grateful for the intelligence provided by our colleagues in the USA. Without which Mather’s crimes would have gone undetected.”

He added: “We will continue to use our specialist regional resources to target offenders such as this, and thus remove them and the risk that they pose from our local communities across Yorkshire and the Humber.”

The Police Central e-Crime Unit is a national unit created to respond to the most serious incidents of cyber crime in the UK.

The Yorkshire and Humber hub was launched in February and operates alongside other policing units, including the Regional Organised Crime Unit and the Regional Intelligence Unit.

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