In 2019, the Offender Database reported that Joshua Nutland, then 28, of Queens Close, Sutton Benger, Wiltshire, was sentenced at Swindon Crown Court.
Joshua Nutland was handed a 16-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, after pleading guilty to making indecent images of children, possession of extreme pornography, and initiating or encouraging a child sex offence. The court heard that Joshua Nutland operated a Dropbox account where he stored and distributed vile movies and images of child abuse, encouraging other “like-minded” individuals to contribute to the illegal collection.
The investigation began in December 2016 when Dropbox service providers alerted police to the content being stored on their servers. Following his arrest in March 2018, police seized Joshua Nutland’s phone and discovered 46 images and 22 movies of child sexual abuse. The majority of the films were classified in the most severe category, depicting the rape and torture of young girls aged between eight and ten.
Prosecutor Colin Meeke informed the court that, although the exact volume of material that passed through the Dropbox could not be fully determined, it was established that the platform was used for distributing files between Nutland and other members of a messaging group. Judge Robert Pawson delivered a scathing sentencing remark, telling Nutland that by downloading and viewing these images, he was directly contributing to a market that causes children to be raped for sexual gratification.
Despite the severity of the material, Judge Pawson decided to spare Joshua Nutland an immediate custodial sentence, arguing that the public would be better protected if he underwent treatment in the community. In addition to the suspended sentence, Joshua Nutland was ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work, a 10-day rehabilitation activity requirement, and a specialist sex offenders course. He was also placed on the sex offenders register for ten years and made subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) for the same period.
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