An Exmouth Paedophile, Stephen Huxtable, who accumulated a ‘mega file’ of 100,000 child sexual abuse photographs, resides fewer than 400 meters from a school in Exmouth.
Stephen Huxtable, 59, downloaded and disseminated an extensive array of disturbing movies and photographs depicting the rape and abuse of minors.
Stephen Huxtable from Moorfield Road, Exmouth, acknowledged nine offences under the Protection of Children Act and received a sentence of two years and four months at Exeter Crown Court.
The court was informed that law enforcement had intervened following the upload of an indecent image on his Instagram account in 2021.
He was released pending investigation, but continued to commit offences.
Some of the charges included his transmission of photos and a gigabyte cloud file to an undercover police officer.
The judge stated that Stephen Huxtable was essentially disseminating access to a repository of obscene photographs and paedophilic communications.
Examinations of his phone indicated a fervent interest in child sexual exploitation.
From September 2009 to January 2024, he acquired over 17,000 indecent photographs and films of child abuse classified as category A, the most severe category.
Stephen Huxtable also acknowledged generating over 20,000 in category B and 67,841 in category C.
The defendant, a manufacturing supervisor, pleaded guilty to holding 142 illicit photos of minors and to a charge of possessing extreme images depicting sexual acts with a dog.
“It could potentially elevate his risk in the future instead of mitigating it,” he stated.
Judge James Patrick stated that Stephen Huxtable had essentially ‘provided access to a repository of sexual assault photographs’ to the undercover police investigator.
He stated that he had deliberated thoroughly on the mitigation and was content that Stephen Huxtable represented a relatively low risk of reoffending in the future.
However, he stated that the defendant has persisted in committing offences during the investigation, and the severity of the charges necessitated immediate incarceration.
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