Indecent pictures pervert hid in tent

Philip Riley, 50, fled his home in Chesterfield Road, Blackpool, after officers raided the house and seized his computer equipment which contained images of toddlers and teenagers being sexually abused.

Preston Crown Court heard Riley was arrested when officers executed a search warrant at his home on November 7 2014, but denied having any indecent images on his devices.

He was granted bail and fled to Macclesfield where he was living in a tent in woodland.

The court heard Riley, of no fixed address, had been living in shared accommodation in Blackpool and had seen a neighbour targeted by some of the young men in the street after being convicted of similar offences.

Knowing they would be aware of the raid he felt unable to return to the property and went on the run.

He later moved from Macclesfield to the Irwell Valley, Greater Manchester, and handed himself in to police.

Mr Justice Sweeney, sentencing, said: “You were bailed while enquiries were undertaken by the police.

“You spent time on the run and were eventually apprehended.

“The devices were analysed and contained a number of disturbing images of children being abused.

“You need to reflect on the fact that each image you watched concerned a real child being abused which you watched for your own satisfaction.

“They were, in the majority, moving images.

“Search terms deployed by you suggest you were interested in that sort of indecent material and when you were reinterviewed you admitted your offending.

“You have nowhere to go – you are homeless. This case is so serious that only a custodial sentence can be justified.”

Riley pleaded guilty to possessing 13 category A images and possession of prohibited images.

The judge jailed him for 10 months and made a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO).