Paedophile pensioner caught with child sex images avoids jail nearly 20 years after first conviction
A paedophile pensioner from Telford who was again convicted for having child sex abuse images claimed to police he does not have a sexual interest in children.
Richard Holbrook, aged 71, had child abuse images on his devices spanning a nine-year period from 2011 to 2020.
This latest conviction comes nearly 20 years after his first for similar offending in 2004, when he received a 10-month jail sentence.
Shrewsbury Crown Court was told that police received intelligence of a Skype account linked to indecent images of children. The account was traced to Holbrook's address in of Clares Lane Close, The Rock, and he was arrested on September 22, 2020.
Officers carried out a search warrant at his home and seized his electronic devices. His web history showed search terms "indicative of a sexual interest in children", Rob Edwards, prosecuting, told the court.
Holbrook was released pending investigation so police could examine his devices more forensically. They found 22 inaccessible Category A child images - which would have depicted some of the most depraved child sex abuse. There were 15 inaccessible Category B images, 11 inaccessible Category C and 104 accessible Category C pictures.
