Southampton man handed suspended sentence for possessing indecent images of children

A man has been given a suspended sentence for possessing, and distributing, over 300 indecent images and videos of children.

Jacob George Evans, 32, of Burghclere Road, Southampton pled guilty at Southampton Crown Court on Monday 15 May during the first day of his trial to possession of indecent images of children.

At the same hearing, he was handed a 12 month custodial sentence – suspended for two years. He was also ordered to sign the Sex Offenders’ Register for five years and made subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for a period of five years.

In addition, Jacob Evans was told to conduct 150 hours of unpaid work and required to attend a rehabilitation programme for a period of 70 days.

Evans was also required to forfeit his mobile device and pay court costs.

Officers attended Evans home address in Victoria Road in the early hours of 27 April last year after information was supplied linked to an IP address in relation to the download of indecent images of children. A mobile device was seized.

Evans was arrested at the scene.

Forensic examinations revealed he had a number of indecent images in his possession on his mobile device.

Of these images and videos, 107 were Category A – the most serious, while 68 were Category B and 130 were Category C. Whilst there were two prohibited images and two images displaying extreme pornography.

Hannah Daish from the Internet Child Abuse Team led the investigation. She said: “Evans possessed a collection of indecent images of children stored on his device.

“We have taken swift action to bring a conviction against Jacob George Evans. He clearly poses a risk to children and will have strict conditions imposed upon him as part of his Sexual Harm Prevention Order and will continued to be monitored as part of being on the Sex Offenders’ Register for the next five years.

“Whilst this has not resulted in a custodial sentence, I hope this investigation highlights our commitment to relentless pursuing criminals and keeping children in our communities safe across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight.

“Criminals need to know that Hampshire and the Isle of Wight is a hostile environment for them, and that every effort will be made to see justice served. We will do everything we can to ensure offenders are put before the courts.”