Filey paedophile spared prison after downloading more than 3,000 indecent images of children

Charlie Mainprize, 27, described as a “consumer of filth”, was arrested after police swooped on his home in Filey in September 2020 and seized his mobile phone, York Crown Court heard.

He was released on bail while forensic officers analysed his data, but carried on downloading the vile material, said prosecutor Brooke Morrison.

Mainprize, of West Road, admitted eight counts of making indecent images of children and appeared for sentence on Tuesday, May 9, after being remanded in custody.

Ms Morrison said that police swooped on Mainprize’s home for a second time in February last year after new information came to light that he had been downloading yet more sickening images of children.

On this occasion, police seized a mobile phone and a computer tower.

Mainprize was arrested a third and final time in March 2022, when a mobile, laptop and two memory cards were seized from his home by officers.

The devices seized during the first two searches were analysed and found to contain 3,407 indecent images of minors including 734 sordid shots rated Category A – the worst kind of such material involving the sexual abuse of children.

The images included both photos and videos.

One of the Category A images featured a child between six and eight years of age which Mainprize had downloaded while on bail.

His wider offending occurred between 2015 and 2022.

Mainprize had installed an anonymous browser on his phone which had allowed him “encrypted access” to indecent images which could be used to share the illicit material, although he wasn’t charged with distributing any images.

Forensic officers had found “conversations” between Mainprize and a 14-year-old girl in which indecent photos and videos had been shared.

However, defence barrister Andrew Petterson was spared the need for mitigation after Recorder Anthony Hawks said that although it was a “bad case of its type”, he would not be sending Mainprize to prison despite the sheer volume of debauched images collected over seven years.

He said although Mainprize could not be described as a “man of good character”, he had never been in trouble before.

He told the Filey man: “You are not a man of good character: you are a pervert; you are a man with a perverted interest in younger children.

“You derive sexual pleasure from looking at young children being sexually abused.

"You are simply a consumer of this filth.

"Your hands are just as dirty as the people who make these images.”

Mr Hawks said that Mainprize thoroughly deserved to go straight to jail but it was more important to ensure that, through intervention, he did not reoffend.

Mainprize was handed an 18-month suspended prison sentence and was ordered to complete up to 90 days of a sex-offenders’ group programme and a 30-day rehabilitation course.

He was also given a 10-year sexual-harm prevention order to curb his online activities.

“You are a marked man now,” added Mr Hawks.

“The police know about you; they know where you live.

"You don’t know when they are going to come knocking on your door.”

Mainprize was also ordered to sign on the sex-offenders’ register for 10 years.