A 31-year-old man from Calmore who targeted an undercover police officer posing as a 14-year-old child and amassed 325 child abuse images has avoided an immediate prison term at Southampton Crown Court.
Joshua Starks appeared for sentence after entering guilty pleas to six offences relating to online grooming attempts, indecent images of children, and extreme pornography.
The court was told that Starks initiated contact over Snapchat with an account managed by an undercover officer acting as a 14-year-old schoolboy. Although the age was established at the outset of the contact, Starks steered the discussion into explicit sexual requests. He pressed for nude images, video footage of sexual acts, and photographs of the decoy dressed in school uniform, telling the account that the uniform aroused him.
Hampshire Constabulary executed a search at Starks’s address in January 2025, seizing digital devices for laboratory examination. Specialist analysis located 325 child sexual abuse files, comprising:
- 172 Category A files (the most severe classification)
- 123 Category B files
- 30 Category C files
Forensic analysts determined that the children depicted in the media ranged in age from five to 15 years old. In addition to the abuse imagery, investigators identified an extreme pornographic image involving an animal. The court heard that Starks subsequently lost his position working in a café and faced estrangement from relatives following his arrest.
Under the provisions of the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 1992 and Section 49 of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933, all children depicted in abuse imagery and any child complainants are protected by automatic, lifelong statutory anonymity. Publishing, broadcasting, or disseminating any details, names, addresses, schools, or images capable of leading to the public identification of protected individuals is strictly prohibited under UK law.
Starks pleaded guilty to:
- Attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child
- Causing a child under 16 to look at an image of sexual activity
- Three counts of possessing indecent images of children
- Possessing an extreme pornographic image
Sentencing judge Recorder Jodie Mittell KC imposed a 24-month community order. Under the disposal terms, Starks is required to perform 100 hours of unpaid work in the community and attend up to 25 rehabilitation activity sessions under the supervision of the Probation Service.
Alongside the community penalty, the court confirmed:
A five-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) monitoring his internet use, software capabilities, and digital hardware
Mandatory notification requirements on the Sex Offenders Register for five years under the provisions of the Sexual Offences Act 2003
Image – Anonymous Artist Impression
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