A MAN who admitted downloading nearly 5,000 images of children has been placed on the Sex Offenders Register for five years.

David Briggs, 35, was also ordered to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work, was given a three-year community order and was made the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Basildon Crown Court heard how officers, acting on intelligence, executed  a warrant at the home of Briggs in Victoria Avenue, Southend on April 15 last year.

They seized various equipment, including an iPad, a laptop, a USB stick and a DVD.

The equipment was forensically examined and found to contain:
199 Category A moving images and stills (Category A is the most serious level of abuse imagery)
186 Category B moving images and stills
4,172 Category C images
16 Prohibited images
133 Extreme images

Briggs was charged with three counts of making indecent images of children, possessing prohibited images of children and possessing extreme pornography.

He admitted the charges when he appeared at Basildon Crown Court where the court also ordered Briggs to carry out a 60 rehabilitation programme, ordered him to pay £250 costs and ordered the forfeiture and destruction of his computer equipment.

Following the sentencing Det Sgt Ashley Howard said: “Briggs had a huge amount of images, some featuring children as young as six-years-old being abused.

“These children - like every child featured in abuse imagery - are exploited every time someone downloads or shares these images.

“Nothing is more important than protecting our children and Essex Police has and will continue to proactively target those viewing, downloading or making indecent images of children.

“If you are committing this crime we will knock on your door and we will put you before the courts.”

Briggs is one of more than 50 offenders arrested during a crackdown aimed at targeting offenders downloading, making and distributing indecent images of children online.

Over the last year, using an intelligence-led approach, a dedicated team of specialist officers have targeted those carrying out this type of offence. 

The team have worked alongside and in support of Essex Police’s existing specialist Police Online Investigation Team (POLIT) and Child Abuse Investigation Teams (CAIT). 

The Lucy Faithfull Foundation is the only UK-wide child protection charity focused solely on preventing child sexual abuse. The charity runs Stop it Now! – a child sexual abuse prevention campaign and helpline.

For more information on how Stop it Now! helps people address their online behaviour, please visit the website www.stopitnow.org.uk or call the confidential Stop it Now! Helpline on 0808 1000 900.