A computer and an external hard drive containing thousands of indecent images of children led to a former Ramsgate man being sentenced to prison.
On 23 April 2018 a search warrant was executed at a property previously occupied by David Bland in Ramsgate. During the search police officers located multiple devices including three computers and an external hard drive which were taken away for forensic analysis.
Specialist forensic software was used by police which provided evidence of nearly 4,500 illegal images and multiple internet searches relating to indecent images.
KENT POLICE
David Bland, aged 61, denied knowing anything about indecent images and told officers that no images of children would be found on his devices.
At court, however, he pleaded guilty to five counts of possessing indecent photographs of children, three counts of making indecent photographs of children, one count of possessing extreme pornographic images and one count of possessing prohibited images of a child
On Thursday 10 December 2020 he was sentenced at Canterbury Crown Court to two years’ imprisonment and will be subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for 10 years.
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Detective Constable Graham Oliver from Kent Police’s Online Investigation Team said: ‘David Bland denied having any indecent images of children on the multiple devices that he owned. He tried to hide what he was searching for.
‘He had showed strong intent and determination to access illegal images of children and make no mistake those images will have resulted from real children suffering appalling abuse. People like Bland have no understanding of the gravity of their actions, but through the hard work of our officers he has now been brought to justice.’