Welcome To Poole
Related Articles
A man from CHRISTCHURCH who took hundreds of underground images of a young girl has been jailed for two years.
Mark Pidgley (46), of Portfield Close, shared 46 of the images he took with other users on the Kik mobile app and commented on the victim, Bournemouth Crown Court has learned.
In a message, the former fencing firm employee said he had “not fucked her yet,” prosecutor Stuart Ellacott said.
Police became aware of the sharing of other generic images of abuse and are investigating, Mr Ellacott said, bringing them to Pidgley – who initially claimed to have shared such images to ‘trick’ other people on the internet who might have an unhealthy interest in children.
However, officers eventually uncovered the 316 images he had taken of the young victim – who cannot be named for legal reasons.
In a second interview with police, Pidgley disclosed his offense.
In court, the defendant admitted 10 charges; four were about the girl while the other six were about generic images of abuse that he was sharing or distributing through the Kik app. Generic images showed children as young as one year old, Ellacott added.
Defending Pidgley, Tom Hoarder said his client had led a spotless life before these breaches were discovered.
Pidgley had been well regarded and others were “shocked and surprised” by the breach, while his client had “remorse”. Mr Hoarder added: “He knows he has not only let down the victim, but everyone he knows and loves.”
The accused had voluntarily taken steps to remedy his offense, completing virtual sessions with the Lucy Faithfull Foundation and the Steps to Wellbeing program. He had also been assessed as medium risk by probation.
“I don’t think he’s coming back to court,” Hoarder added.
However, Judge Brian Forster rejected Mr. Hoarder’s suggestions that a conditional sentence or a community sentence with pardon could be considered.
“Unfortunately, I cannot do this because the facts of this case are shocking and serious,†he said.
In addition to the jail term, he gave Pidgley a 10-year Sexual Injury Prevention Order, banned him from contacting the victim indefinitely, and ordered the destruction of the associated devices.
