In 2021, Richard Lees, THEN a 45-year-old man from Dibden, received a suspended prison sentence after being caught with an estimated half a million indecent images of children collected over three decades.
Richard Lees, of The Orchard, Dibden, pleaded guilty at Winchester Crown Court to two counts of making indecent images of children. The court heard that Hampshire Constabulary searched Lees’ home on 4 June 2020 and seized multiple electronic devices containing three terabytes of BitTorrent-downloaded material. Investigators examined a desktop computer and a mobile phone, analysing 54,000 files, while the full collection was estimated at 500,000 images. During police interviews and pre-sentence evaluations, Lees claimed he believed the children were happy models rather than victims of abuse, showing a complete lack of remorse.
Recorder Power sentenced Lees to six months in prison, suspended for 24 months, alongside 100 hours of unpaid work, 20 rehabilitation activity days, and completion of the Horizon sex offender programme.
Following his convictions, Lees was placed on the Sex Offenders Register and made subject to public protection notification requirements.
He also remains subject to statutory risk management protocols, probation supervision, and law enforcement monitoring.
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