Stephen Paddock, aged 59, formerly of Old Turnpike Road, Roughton, near Cromer, Norfolk, and now of Market Rasen, Lincolnshire, has avoided an immediate prison term at Norwich Crown Court after pleading guilty to amassing and distributing thousands of child sexual abuse files.
The court heard that Paddock had previously received a custodial sentence in 2013 for possessing indecent images of children and breaching an existing court order.
Despite those prior convictions, Paddock returned to offending by using an account on the Kik messaging application to champion the sexual abuse of children and trade illegal material with other offenders.
Officers from Norfolk Police arrested Paddock in June 2024 during an enforcement raid, confiscating a mobile handset.
Prosecuting barrister Martin Ivory told the court that the device contained a vast archive of illicit content involving victims aged between four and nine.
Specialist digital forensic analysts recovered:
- 1,072 Category A images and 485 Category A videos (the most severe legal tier, depicting rape and sexual torture)
- 989 Category B images and 115 Category B videos
- 838 Category C images and 84 Category C videos
- Extreme pornographic media
Paddock entered guilty pleas to three counts of making indecent images of children, two counts of distributing indecent images of children, one count of possessing extreme pornography, two counts of breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, and failing to comply with annual sex offender notification requirements.
Sentencing him, Recorder John Hardy noted that Paddock was no stranger to the courts and had committed vile and reprehensible offences.
However, after considering his guilty pleas and the personal impact that an immediate custodial term would exert on his partner, the judge imposed a three-year prison sentence, suspended for an operational period of three years.
Paddock was also ordered to complete 15 rehabilitation activity requirement days and pay £500 in prosecution costs.
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