A Liverpool Paedophile, Robert Swaine, has been jailed for indecently exposing himself to a young girl and possessing hundreds of child sexual abuse images.
Robert Swaine, 31 years, of Prospect Vale in Fairfield was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison and two years extended licence yesterday, Monday 31 March, at Liverpool Crown Court.
He was also issued with a lifetime Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO).
The court heard that detectives received information that a man was distributing indecent images of children. A warrant was executed at Robert Swaine’s address and fives electronic devices were seized.
Following a forensic examination of the devices, police found they contained more than a thousand indecent images and videos of children – graded category A, B and C.
Furthermore while being investigated for those offences, the court heard that Robert Swaine indecently exposed himself at a bus stop on County Road in Walton in the presence of an 11-year-old child in September last year. Officers arrested him at the scene.
At a previous court hearing Swaine pleaded guilty to all six of the of the following charges: indecent exposure, possessing prohibited images, three counts of making indecent photograph/pseudo-photograph of a child – category A, B and C, and possession of photograph/pseudo-photograph of a child – category A,B and C.
Detective Inspector James Milligan said: “This sentence follows a thorough investigation to bring Robert Swaine before the courts and ensure he is held accountable for his utterly depraved and abhorrent crimes against children.
“As you can imagine the impact on the victims of these appalling offences is significant and long lasting. Merseyside Police is completely committed to protecting children from sexual abuse and those who seek to do them harm.
“If you have experienced any form of sexual abuse, or know of a child being abused, please come forward and report this to police.
“We take all such reports extremely seriously and if you can find the courage to come forward and speak to us we have specially trained officers who will treat you with sensitivity and compassion.”
Sex offending has such a huge and terrible impact on victims, and we are determined to continue looking to innovative new ways of identifying repeat offenders at the earliest possible opportunity, to prevent young people coming to further harm from abuse and exploitation.
If you are a child or young person suffering sexual or physical abuse, the following organisations can also provide help and support:
NSPCC – call 0808 800 5000 or e-mail help@nspcc.org.uk.
Childline – call 0800 1111
If you’ve been affected by sexual violence of any kind don’t be afraid to tell someone, find the courage to come forward and get the help you deserve.
You can report rape, sexual assault and other sexual offences anonymously here: https://www.merseyside.police.uk/ro/report/rsa/alpha-v1/advice/rape-sexual-assault-and-other-sexual-offences/how-to-report-rape-sexual-assault-other-sexual-offences/
There is a lot of support available from specialist officers within Merseyside Police and through the Police and Crime Commissioner’s Victim Care Merseyside service delivered jointly by two registered charities.
In Liverpool, Sefton and Wirral, support is provided by Rape and Sexual Abuse Support (RASA) Merseyside who are available on 0151 558 1801 and, in St Helens and Knowsley, by the Rape and Sexual Abuse Support Centre (RASASC) Cheshire and Merseyside who can be contacted on 01925 221 546 or 0330 363 0063.
If you or anyone you know have been affected by the people highlighted in this article, then please report those individuals to the Police on 101 (999 if an emergency) or visit their online resources for further details of the options for reporting a crime. You can also make a report at Crimestoppers should you wish to be completely anonymous. There is help available on our support links page.