A Swansea Paedophile Mark Whitelock was discovered in possession of over 1,000 photos depicting child abuse and explicit pornography. Disturbing images featured children as young as one year old.
On April 30th of last year, police visited Mark Whitelock, a 41-year-old resident of Swansea, at his house. This visit was prompted by intelligence acquired by the police regarding the downloading of obscene photos of children. Several electronic gadgets, including a Samsung phone, were confiscated.
During the sentencing hearing at Newport Crown Court on Friday, it was revealed that the phone included 311 photographs classified as Category A, 181 images classified as Category B, and 439 images classified as Category C. A grand total of 239 highly explicit pornographic photographs featuring animals such as dogs and horses were also discovered and retrieved.
Prosecutor Andrew Davies stated that the photos portrayed people engaging in penetrative actions with youngsters as young as two years old. The search terms used by the defendant indicated his sexual attraction towards youngsters and animals.
The photographs were discovered to have been downloaded from October 2020 to April 2022, while searches for inappropriate content were traced back as early as 2001. In addition, the defendant utilised software that automatically erased his internet history.
Mark Whitelock, residing at Heol Penfelyn, Cwmrhydyceirw, was apprehended and remained silent in response to enquiries. Subsequently, he admitted guilt for three charges of creating indecent photos and one charge of possessing explicit images. The court was informed that he had no prior criminal records.
Tabitha Walker stated that her client had voluntarily sought assistance from the Lucy Faithfull Foundation and Stop SO and had undergone counselling in addition to becoming a member of Sex Addicts Anonymous. According to her, the defendant’s crimes originated from his need for pornography.
According to the barrister, Mark Whitelock primarily focuses on his children and family. She stated that he knows this crime does not involve an innocent party, and he feels a deep sense of disgrace for the content he has watched. He is diagnosed with significant depression illness and has attempted a total of five suicide attempts… He harbours intense self-loathing for his actions.
Judge Tracey Lloyd-Clarke of Cardiff sentenced Mark Whitelock to one year and eight months in jail. He was placed under sex offender notification requirements and a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for 10 years.
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