Man Jailed for Possessing Thousands of Child Abuse Images

A 25-year-old man has been jailed after police discovered more than 5,000 indecent images of children on his devices, including AI-generated images depicting child abuse. 🚨

Jack Gillard, from Trealaw Road in Tonypandy, was sentenced to one year and 10 months imprisonment at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court on Friday following a police raid at his home last July.

The court heard that officers seized several devices after receiving intelligence about the downloading of child abuse images. A digital forensic examination revealed 1,476 category A images (the most serious), 370 category B images, and 3,145 category C images on Gillard’s mobile phone.

Prosecutor Hashim Salmman told the court that prohibited material generated by AI depicting young girls being raped by adult men was also discovered. One accessible category A video was described as a compilation showing children aged between nine and 15 involved in various types of sexual activity with adult males.

The youngest child depicted in the images was just six years old.

Gillard pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children. He has no previous convictions.

In mitigation, it was said the defendant’s behaviour would “never happen again” and that his family had concerns about “fixating behaviour,” noting he had been working to reduce his cannabis consumption.

The Recorder of Cardiff, Judge Tracey Lloyd-Clarke, stated that Gillard posed a risk to children due to his “sexual interest in pre pubescent girls.”

In addition to his prison sentence, Gillard was made subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and sex offender notification requirements for 10 years.