In 2019, the Offender Database reported that Sean Stillwell, then 32, of Roundstone Drive, East Preston, West Sussex, was sentenced at Hove Crown Court after being caught in a “vile” undercover police operation. Stillwell, a father of two, utilised an online chatroom for teenagers to target a profile he believed belonged to a 13-year-old girl named “Miah.” The investigation by Sussex Police revealed that he groomed the child, telling her she was “fit” and vilely requesting a photograph of her in her school uniform.
The court heard horrific details of the subsequent raid on his home in East Preston, West Sussex, where officers discovered a “vicious” collection of 196 indecent images of children. The victims in these images were reported to be as young as eight years old. Furthermore, detectives found “pages and pages” of documents where Stillwell had meticulously listed websites used to source sickening child abuse material and extreme pornography, highlighting a serious and “depraved” digital lifestyle.
During the sentencing, the prosecution reported that Stillwell initially denied having a sexual interest in teenage girls, despite the explicit nature of his “predatory” communications. While his defence barrister mentioned underlying learning difficulties, Judge Christine Henson QC emphasised that his behaviour posed a “high risk of harm” to young girls. The judge noted that while the offences were serious enough to warrant immediate custody, the public might be better served through a serious and intensive community-based rehabilitation programme.
As a result of his guilty pleas to attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child and possessing indecent and prohibited images, Sean Stillwell was handed a three-year community order. He was ordered to complete a specialised sex offender programme, 140 hours of unpaid work, and was made subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO). He is managed under Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA) by Sussex Police, remaining under intensive supervision. Any further predatory behaviour or breach of his registration requirements in East Preston or elsewhere will result in his immediate arrest.
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