"Very dangerous" paedophile from Peterborough jailed in case described by judge as "deeply troubling"
A convicted paedophile, who used online aliases to contact children, has been jailed for more than 11 years after a police check of his devices revealed over 1,600 indecent images and videos of children.
Michael Bolderston, 61, was visited at his home on 4 April by specialist officers from Cambridgeshire Police who manage sexual offenders.
A force spokesperson explained: “Following a previous conviction for offences involving children, Bolderston was required to adhere to the notification requirements of the Sex Offenders Act 2003, as well as a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO), which was issued to him in March 2016.
“The SHPO stated he must not use any device capable of accessing the internet unless it had the capacity to retain and display the history of internet use. It also stated police should be notified about every device he owns which can access the internet.
“During the visit to Bolderston’s home in Lincoln Road, New England, Peterborough, officers found two mobile phones under a sofa cushion, which, despite having access to the internet, had not been made known to police, breaching his SHPO.”
Police said Bolderston had also deleted his internet search history prior to March 2025, despite the phone having been in use since October 2023, further breaching his SHPO.
The two mobile phones were seized, and police checks revealed more than 1,600 images and videos of children, with more than 1,100 of those deemed to be category A, the most serious.
The spokesperson went on: “Bolderston’s phone also revealed he had been using aliases in his online activity, further breaching his notification requirements by not registering these as alias names with police.
“Under one alias, Bolderston attempted to sexually communicate with what he believed to be an 11-year-old girl, sharing indecent images with her and discussing arrangements to meet her for sexual activity.
“Bolderston also used an online chatroom to communicate with what he believed to be an adult woman with three children aged 11 and under. In their conversations, Bolderston asked the woman to facilitate the sexual abuse of her three children, who were all under the age of 11.
“He discussed arrangements to meet the children, describing what he would do to them when they met, and requested for the girls to wear their school uniforms with no underwear.”
At Huntingdon Law Courts, on Friday (1 August), Bolderston was jailed for 11 years and four months after admitting three counts of making indecent images of a child, two counts of breaching a SHPO, one count of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child, and one count of arranging / facilitating commission of a child sex offence. He was also handed an indefinite SHPO to monitor any future offending.
Sentencing, Judge Seely described Bolderston as “a very dangerous offender” and described the case as “deeply troubling”.