A woman's report about her ex-partner led to the discovery of hundreds of indecent images of children, a court has heard. Ryan Morgan, 27, was found with both pictures and videos of children, with one victim depicted as young as seven. He had also downloaded software capable of hiding the images.
Investigation and Discovery
Morgan, of Rochdale, was handed a suspended jail term on Friday, June 5. Manchester's Minshull Street Crown Court heard that police examined Morgan's phone and computer tower following allegations from his ex-partner in January 2023. The court was told that his ex-partner had allegedly seen images of herself sent to others from Morgan's Instagram account. The police took no further action in respect of the allegations, and he was not arrested or charged.
Whilst officers investigated her claims, they seized Morgan's phone and computer tower, which revealed he had sent an image of another ex-partner when she was aged between 14 and 16 to another person, prosecutor Caitlin Stiles said. "The defendant was 22 at the time of sending that image," she said.
Further Examination
On further examination of his phone, it revealed that he had searched online for indecent images of children, the court heard. "Officers found 258 category A images, 41 category B and 48 category C. Depicted amongst those images was a child as young as seven," the prosecutor continued. "There were moving images, and there were a large number of different victims."
He was arrested, and he denied downloading the images, alleging someone was using mirroring software to download them. He also denied searching for the images.
Guilty Plea and Defence
Morgan has since pleaded guilty to three offences of possessing indecent images of children, distributing an indecent image of a child and possession of an extreme pornographic image. Defending Morgan, Adam White said whilst he understood why the prosecution outlined the matters relating to the allegations from his former partner, Morgan was never charged and was not to be sentenced for those matters.
"It was made clear to me that he recognises he engaged in actions which caused very significant distress. He is deeply sorry. It is one of those rare occasions where there is some general insight," he said. Mr White said Morgan was using drugs at the time which was something he 'needed to do something about'. "He has shown regret and remorse about it - he deeply regrets his actions. The defendant has significant stress handing over him, he accepts that is entirely his fault. He is very keen to move on from this."
Sentencing
Sentencing, Judge Kevin Slack said he was 'troubled' by the large number of images, and Morgan had downloaded 'software designed to conceal the images'. Morgan, of Featherstone Square, Littleborough, was handed 14 months suspended for 18 months. He must complete 20 rehabilitation activity requirement days and 225 hours of unpaid work. He was also made subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for five years.
