AN INVESTIGATION by South Wales Police’s Police Online Investigation Team (POLIT) discovered Marc Phillips, of Aberdare, had incident images of children on his device.
Earlier this month, Merthyr Crown Court sentenced Phillips, 43, to three years and nine months imprisonment. He was also made subject of an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention order (SHPO) and has been added to the Sex Offenders’ Register indefinitely.
Detectives executed a warrant at the home of Phillips after intelligence was received indicating an upload of illegal material from his home address.
The investigation revealed that Phillips’ mobile phone device was responsible for the uploads. He was arrested and initially denied any knowledge of the offending uploads.
But forensic examinations on his phone confirmed the device contained seven indecent images of children and also showed he had shared some images with other offenders.
He later pleaded guilty to all offences.
Detective Constable Cheryl Jenkins, from POLIT, said: “Real children suffer the worst type of abuse and exploitation in the production of these images, and those who download and view them simply create a market for further images of abuse to be produced – and for more children to suffer in future. This abuse often has a lasting, and perhaps lifelong, impact on the victims.
“We have a dedicated team of specialist detectives within the POLIT who target offenders processing and sharing child sexual abuse material online. Using multiple sources of intelligence they are at the front line in protecting children and tackling offenders like Phillips who believe their online activities are anonymous or untraceable.”
