Registered sex offender from Arlesey jailed after more than 1,000 indecent images of children found on his phone

A registered sex offender has been put behind bars after police found more than 1,000 indecent images of children on his phone.

Terence Thatcher, 56, was arrested in February this year after Bedfordshire Police carried out a warrant at his home address and a mobile phone was seized containing more than 1,100 indecent images of children, along with two prohibited and five extremely pornographic images.

There was also evidence of chat streams that showed Thatcher had shared these images with other users.

Thatcher had been released from prison in 2019 and given a sexual harm prevention order – which ordered him to notify his offender manager that he had a new phone – which he had not done.

Police also found that the phone was also logged into various social media accounts that he had not sought permission to use, resulting in a further breach of the conditions of his order.

Investigation Officer Emma Shipton from Bedfordshire Police’s Internet Child Abuse Investigation Team said: “Viewing, possessing and distributing indecent images of children is by no means a victimless crime.

“It causes and propagates real harm to the children concerned, as they are abused and exploited in such a vile and appalling way, and people like Thatcher share this disgusting abuse online for other individuals to view.”

Thatcher, of Bury Mead, Arlesey, was sentenced on Friday (May 19) to a total of two years and eight months in prison, with an additional three years on licence, after pleading guilty to making, distributing and possessing indent images of children, possessing prohibited and pornographic images and for breaching his sexual harm prevention order.

He has also been handed an indefinite sexual harm prevention order.

If you are worried about the safety of a child online or have concerns that someone you know may be committing sexual offences against children or making or distributing explicit materials of children online, please report it to police online.

You can also find more advice and guidance on Bedfordshire Police's website.