A WHITEHAVEN paedophile, Liam Rothery, serving a community sentence for possessing child abuse images, committed a similar offence within a year.
But for unexplained reasons, it took police two years to charge 34-year-old Liam Rothery, who this week entered a guilty plea to downloading 23 indecent child images of Category C.
These are considered the least serious category of child abuse imagery. At Carlisle Crown Court, prosecutor Gerard Rogerson outlined the facts.
He said Liam Rothery, of Ceda Park, Whitehaven, was sentenced for his previous offending in August 2020, with his three-year community order including rehabilitation and a sex offender treatment programme.
But in April 2021, police made an unannounced visit to his home because of suspicions over the delivery of ‘equipment’ to his address.
Though there was no issue with that equipment, police did ask Liam Rothery to hand over his Apple iPhone while they were at his home so they could check it.
On the device, they found a bookmark that linked to a website which was being used by people wishing to share illegal child images.
“It appeared to be Eastern European or Russian in origin,” said Mr Rogerson.
A forensic examination of the phone revealed that the defendant had downloaded 23 child abuse images. When interviewed, Liam Rothery gave no comment replies to the questions put to him by the police.
Mr Rogerson added that the police found evidence on the phone that Liam Rothery had made ‘deliberate or systematic searches’ for images of young children and that he had saved some of those illegal images.
Judge Nicholas Barker said that if the case had been dealt with in a timely manner, the sentencing judge may have concluded that Liam Rothery was not minded to change his ways and dealt with him accordingly.
“For a reason I am struggling to understand, the police did not charge you for this offence until two years later,” the judge told the defendant.
But in the last two years, said the judge, the sex offender treatment programme that Liam Rothery had now completed and his work with the Probation Service had rehabilitated him.
His pre-sentence report was positive, and there had been no repeat offending, observed the judge. In view of this, Judge Barker imposed an 18-month community order, with 20 rehabilitation activity days and an eight-week 6 pm to 6 am curfew.
Liam Rothery will be on the Sex Offender Register for five years.
UPDATE 18.09.25
AFTER WAITING TWO YEARS FOR A SENTENCING, THE CLOWN SHOW THAT IS BRITISH JUSTICE HAS REPORTED THE FOLLOWING:
A Whitehaven Paedophile, Liam Rothery, who “continues to access” indecent photographs of minors, has evaded incarceration.
Liam Rothery, 37, was discovered to have downloaded illicit photos of youngsters as young as eight following an unannounced police visit to his residence in Whitehaven on July 17.
Pamela Fee, prosecuting at Workington Magistrates’ Court, stated that officers arrived at Liam Rothery’s residence to observe his conduct in accordance with an order he is under.
Liam Rothery took a considerable time to appear at the window before approaching the front door. He asserted that he had been in the shower.
Liam Rothery’s phone was confiscated and subsequently examined. It was revealed through the app store that Liam Rothery had downloaded a concealed private browser, which was not apparent on the smartphone. This indicated that Liam Rothery had removed the browser from his device.
Ms Fee stated that this represented a violation of the defendant’s Sexual Harm Prevention Order, resulting in his detention.
An initial examination of the device revealed a restricted quantity of photographs; nevertheless, a subsequent study identified one Category B indecent image of a child and 130 Category C indecent images of minors.
Ms Fee stated that the police had supplied descriptions for three of the photographs. One photograph featured a child aged eight to twelve, while two images depicted a child aged ten to thirteen.
The defendant was questioned regarding the issue and remained mute for most of the enquiries posed.
Ms Fee stated that a request had been submitted for a ‘more comprehensive’ Sexual Harm Prevention Order, aimed at preventing Liam Rothery from perpetrating offences similar to those currently before the court.
The prosecution stated that Liam Rothery ‘persistently commits offences’ and ‘continues to obtain indecent photographs of minors.’
Liam Rothery, from Ceda Park, Whitehaven, previously entered a guilty plea to the creation of one Category B indecent photograph of a child and 130 Category C indecent images of children.
Liam Rothery received a sentence of 16 weeks’ imprisonment, suspended for a duration of two years. He is required to fulfil a 26-day program with the Probation Service and fulfil 10 rehabilitative activity requirement days.
The defendant is required to complete a 12-month mental health treatment program and perform 60 hours of community service without compensation.
He was mandated to register on the Sex Offenders’ Register for seven years and subjected to a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order.
The offender is required to pay £85 in costs and a £154 victim surcharge.
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