Peterborough man who shared "most severe" indecent images of babies and toddlers to a "network" of other men is jailed
A man who was found with more than 250 indecent images of young children on his devices has been jailed.
Stephen Kerr-Morgan, 54, of Bowness Way, Peterborough, had saved indecent images of children – including babies and toddlers – on his phone and iPad.
A Cambs Police spokesperson said: “Officers attended Kerr-Morgan’s home in May 2023, but he refused to provide any passwords or pins to the devices, saying he would rather be arrested.
“Police seized his devices and found they contained more than 150 category A images and videos – the most severe – including baby and toddler victims.
“A further 52 category B images and 49 category C images were uncovered.”
Some of these images had been distributed by Kerr-Morgan, who used end-to-end encryption on social media to hide his identity.
Chat forum discussions between Kerr-Morgan and others were revealed, along with many images he thought he had concealed on his phone and iPad.
Kerr-Morgan pleaded guilty to three charges of making an indecent photo of a child, possessing an extreme pornographic image, two charges of publishing an obscene article and distributing an indecent photograph of a child.
Jailing him for two years and two months at Cambridge Crown Court, sitting at Peterborough, Judge Matthew Lowe said: “I focus on the distribution charge which is the most serious. In my judgement, that offence is aggravated for a number of reasons.
“Firstly, the ages of the children who were depicted in some Category A images shared with others; secondly, this is ongoing distribution over a number of months shared with other men and there is ample evidence that this defendant was actively involved in a network of individuals sharing images of this nature.”
Kerr-Morgan was also issued a sexual harm prevention order for ten years and was told to register with the police throughout the same period.
PC Alex Cochrane said: “We will continue to put before the courts anyone found making or distributing sexual images of children.
“Protecting young people from harm is one of our top priorities and we will continue to work tirelessly to keep children safe.”