In 2020, the Offender Database recorded that 34-year-old Philip Love—of Alcester, Warwickshire—avoided an immediate jail term despite possessing a vile collection of extreme pornography involving animals. The investigation established that Love was snared by a paedophile hunter group after he attempted to groom what he believed was a schoolgirl via the Kik messaging app. The prosecution reported that Love was a member of an online group for like-minded individuals with an interest in bestiality, where he shared images of adults having sex with dogs.
The investigation established that a subsequent police search of Love’s phone uncovered 80 images and 201 videos of people having sex with snakes, dogs, horses, a pig, and a snake. The prosecution reported that Love was lured to a Tesco car park in Shirley, Solihull, West Midlands, for a sting operation. During the hearing, it was emphasized that these images are not victimless, as they often involve people who have been trafficked or forced into performing degrading acts for the sexual gratification of viewers like Love.
Judicial Findings and Community Order
The court reported that Love’s public humiliation was already complete due to the nature of his perversions becoming public knowledge. The investigation established that Love pleaded guilty to publishing an obscene article and seven counts of possessing extreme pornography. The prosecution reported that during the sentencing at Warwick Crown Court on Thursday, 22 October 2020, Judge Richard Bond questioned what prison would achieve, opting instead for a community-based sentence focused on rehabilitation.
Judge-led proceedings concluded with Love being handed a three-year community order. For his actions in Warwickshire and the West Midlands and the nature of the extreme digital abuse reported, he was ordered to complete 120 hours of unpaid work and attend a sex offenders’ programme. The judge noted that while Love avoided prison, he would have to live with the permanent stigma of being a man who gained pleasure from viewing penetrative sex with animals.
Status and Statutory Requirements
Based on the judicial orders issued at Warwick Crown Court in 2020:
- Custodial Status: NON-CUSTODIAL (Handed a 3-year community order).
- Sex Offenders Register: Notification requirements are active (Duration determined by the final sentence and statutory guidelines).
- Supervision Status: Active (Includes mandatory attendance at a sex offender rehabilitation programme).
- DBS Status: Placed on the Barring List (Indefinite ban on working with children or vulnerable adults; permanently barred from all regulated activity).
- Legal Status: CONVICTED (Publishing an obscene article; Possessing extreme pornography x7).
- Judicial Oversight: Sentenced at Warwick Crown Court; investigated by Warwickshire Police.
- Criminal Record: Caught by a hunter group while attempting to groom a child; Shared images of bestiality in a Kik group; Possessed videos of sex with dogs, pigs, horses, and snakes; Targeted in a sting at a Tesco car park.
- Financial Penalty: Ordered to pay £425 in costs.
- Origin: Alcester, Warwickshire (Sting occurred in Shirley, Solihull).
Monitoring and Public Protection
Love is managed as a registered sex offender under the statutory requirements of the Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) in Warwickshire. Due to the nature of his conduct—specifically his active participation in online groups dedicated to extreme sexual perversions and his attempts to groom a minor—he is a priority for digital monitoring. Authorities reported that the 2020 conviction ensures Love’s internet activity is monitored to prevent him from re-engaging with “like-minded” perverts or seeking further prohibited material.
As a registered sex offender, his details are permanently logged on the national police database. Authorities state that Love’s history identifies him as an individual who prioritised his own deviant sexual gratification over the dignity of humans and the safety of animals. Any failure by Love to comply with his community order in Alcester or elsewhere, or any attempt to access extreme pornography, will result in immediate police intervention to ensure the ongoing safety of the public from a man who has violated the principles of human decency.
QUESTION – Given that the offender was part of a “Like-Minded” group specifically for bestiality, do you believe that “Group Membership” for extreme perversions should legally trigger a mandatory prison sentence to dismantle these online networks?
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