The Exeter Paedophile, Justin Sanders, an individual with a sexual attraction towards children has been incarcerated for intentionally erasing the record of their online search activities on their computer.
According to Exeter Crown Court, Justin Sanders, 26, also known as Justin Washington, put an application on the device to eliminate incriminating evidence.
Justin Sanders is an individual who has been found guilty of a sexual offence and has been legally prohibited from erasing his internet search records, as mandated by a court order.
However, after a police investigation conducted last year, it was discovered that Justin Sanders had child abuse photographs stored on his phone.
Additionally, it was revealed that Justin Sanders had installed CCleaner software on his laptop and utilised it to eradicate any incriminating proof of his online activities during the lockdown period.
During his testimony, he asserted to the judge that he had solely removed cookies, temporary files, and caches to optimise his computer’s performance. However, the judge concluded that the evidence strongly suggested that he had erased illicit photographs of minors.
Recorder Don Tait said: “He was deliberately and knowingly deleting incriminating and significant evidence from his laptop.”
Justin Sanders was jailed for two years.
Justin Sanders, of Howell Road, Exeter, admitted two offences of having indecent images of children on his phone. He also admitted breaching the terms of his Sexual Harm Prevention Order imposed in 2016.
Mr Brian Fitzherbert, the prosecutor, said the police could not find evidence of precisely what images Justin Sanders had deleted from this laptop. But they found a conversation Sanders had on Facebook with another sex offender in which they shared enthusiastic paedophilic opinions on a child anime character.
The defendant has previous convictions for possessing indecent images of children and for sexual offences against boys.
Ms Emily Pitts, defending, said Justin Sanders knew he had breached the terms of his SHPO by deleting cookies with CCleaner but said his police offender manager had told him he had permission to do so.
She said Justin Sanders needed help for his behaviour and would not get that in prison.
“Custody is a damaging environment for him,” she added. “It is not going to address his longer-term issues. Custody is not going to help him and will not support or protect the public.
“What is needed is structure and tailored intervention.”
Recorder Tait was asked to make a finding of fact before sentencing. He said the evidence was clear, and Justin Sanders had no permission to install the software and delete files.
“I have to decide whether this defendant knew what he was doing when he was using the CCleaner software, and can I infer from the evidence he was deleting indecent images of children?
“This defendant, by his admission, has a sophisticated understanding of computers and computing. Justin Sanders has been convicted of significant and severe offences, and his convictions include making indecent photos of children in 2016 and 2018.
“On the evidence, I am quite satisfied that this was exactly what he was doing.”
Recorder Tait said Justin Sanders had previously completed the highest level sexual harm offender course available from probation but was resistant to rehabilitation.
“This defendant is at significant risk of committing serious offences. He’s entrenched in his views concerning child pornography, and he’s committed contact offences previously.
“He is in breach of a suspended sentence and breach of his SHPO, and I’ve concluded that despite everything submitted on the defendant’s behalf, an immediate sentence of imprisonment is appropriate.
“It will take him out of public circulation for a limited period, but he needs to understand if he continues to offend in this fashion and does not seek to address the issues he has, he will be spending more time in custody.”
Justin Sanders will serve half his sentence in jail and the rest on licence. He was given a new indefinite SHPO to control his behaviour once released.
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