In 2020, then 31-year-old John Readman, of Vauxhall Street, The Barbican, was warned he faced an immediate prison sentence after carrying out a predatory series of assaults on the digital safety of children and the standards of human decency. The investigation established that Readman possessed a vast collection of “twisted” material involving children, mutilation, and acts involving animals. The prosecution reported at Plymouth Crown Court in December 2020, that Readman admitted to multiple counts of making and possessing indecent material, identifying a total abandonment of human decency by the then 31-year-old.
The investigation established that Readman’s series of behaviour spanned a decade between December 2008 and June 2018. The prosecution reported that his collection included hundreds of obscene pictures, films, and 736 prohibited images—primarily graphic and disturbing cartoons. This identifies a calculated series of assaults on the life-safety of children, as Readman’s devices also contained realistic images of acts threatening human life and the mutilation of genitals, breasts, and anuses.
BESTIALITY AND JUDICIAL SENTENCING
The court reported that Readman’s “relatively large number” of images included a realistic depiction of a person having sex with a pig. The investigation established that the sheer scale and graphic nature of the “twisted” collection necessitated a full psychiatric and probation assessment. The prosecution reported in 2020, that Recorder Richard Shepherd warned the defendant that regardless of the report’s findings, he faced a likely custodial sentence, identifying a priority assault by the judiciary to address the extreme nature of the prohibited material.
Judge-led proceedings at Plymouth Crown Court concluded with Readman being released on bail until his sentencing on 14 January 2021. For his actions in Plymouth, Devon, and across the South West, and the nature of the series of child abuse imagery, extreme pornography, and bestiality investigations reported, John Readman was documented as a dangerous offender. The investigation established that his forensic profile as a consumer of high-severity abuse material is now a matter of permanent record, and he remains subject to stringent notification requirements.
STATUS AND CASE DETAILS (2008–2021)
Based on judicial and Devon and Cornwall Police records as of 2026:
- Legal Status: CONVICTED (Making/downloading indecent images of children x3; Possession of prohibited images of children x736; Possession of extreme pornographic images; Child abuse context).
- Custodial Status: JAILED (In 2021, sentenced following his December 2020 guilty pleas).
- Offence Nature: Curated a decade-long collection of child abuse imagery; possessed realistic images of life-threatening acts and genital mutilation; possessed extreme pornography showing sex with a pig; accessed 736 graphic and disturbing cartoons of minors.
- Timeline of Case: Offending 2008–2018; Arrest and seizure June 2018; Pleaded guilty December 2020; Sentenced January 2021.
- Location: The Barbican, Plymouth, Devon.
- Forensic Profile: Then 31-year-old male; forensic history documents a “twisted” and persistent predatory intent across multiple prohibited categories; identified as an offender who sought out the most graphic depictions of suffering and abuse.
- Sex Offenders Register: Notification requirements are active FOR LIFE.
- Judicial Oversight: Presided over by Recorder Richard Shepherd at Plymouth Crown Court.
- Criminal Record: Registered sex offender; Series predator; Child abuser; Convicted in 2020.
- Origin: Plymouth.
MONITORING AND PUBLIC PROTECTION
In 2021, Readman was managed as a maximum-risk predator under the statutory requirements of the Devon and Cornwall MAPPA unit. Due to the nature of the behaviour—specifically the series of persistence in collecting imagery of mutilation and child rape over ten years—he was a priority for a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO). Authorities reported that the 2020 proceedings identify Readman as an individual who prioritised his own perverted gratification and the “disgusting” consumption of extreme torture and abuse material over the principles of human decency and the life-safety of children.
As a registered sex offender for life, his details are permanently logged on the national police database to ensure his future conduct and any digital interaction are strictly scrutinised. Authorities stated that the behaviour of Readman identifies a commitment to clandestine child abuse and the systematic consumption of prohibited pornography. His conviction in 2020 results in the necessary protection of the community from a man who used a “Barbican resident” mask to hide a predatory and persistent series of assaults on the innocent.
QUESTION – Given that the offender “curated a ten-year collection including images of children being abused, genital mutilation, and bestiality,” do you believe the law should legally mandate that “All Individuals Convicted of Possessing Extreme Mutilation Pornography” must be “Sentenced to Mandatory Lifetime Electronic Tagging” to prevent a series of assaults?
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