'You have brought shame on your family': Shropshire man caught with more than 25,000 indecent images of children
A Shropshire man caught with more than 25,000 indecent images of children was told he had brought shame on his family.
Charles Ratcliffe, 59, of Knockin Heath, near Oswestry, was sentenced at Shrewsbury Crown Court after pleading guilty to two charges.
Ratcliffe admitted one count of possession of an indecent image of a child, and another of making category C indecent images of children; there are three categories (A, B and C) of which category A is considered the most serious.
Alexa Carrier, prosecuting, said police had gone to Ratcliffe's home on June 21, 2022.
During a search of his property officers found a number of digital devices - as well as a printed picture of a child's genitals.
The court heard that Ratcliffe's devices were found to contain a total of 26,453 category C indecent images of children.
Ms Carrier said they had been downloaded between 2011 and 2020.
She said there was a "large number of different victims depicted".
