A transgender woman who used her mobile phone to store more than 1,000 images of child sexual abuse, including babies being raped, has been given a suspended sentence. Lucy Dean, 27, of Macclesfield, Cheshire, admitted downloading the material from the dark web over two years until police tracked her down in June 2025.
Chester Crown Court heard that Dean had 306 category A images, the most serious, including 224 videos showing babies in distress. She also had 173 category B images and 525 category C images, as well as six prohibited images. Dean pleaded guilty to one charge of possession of prohibited images and three charges of making indecent images of children.
Prosecutor Peter Hussey said Dean's offending came to light after intelligence linked her email and IP addresses to uploading indecent images. Police seized her Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 5 phone and found she had used the encrypted app Signal and the dark web via the Tor browser to access the material. Search terms indicated she was seeking out paedophilic content.
Judge Michael Leeming told Dean: 'These are not victimless crimes. People downloading this sort of material stimulates the demand and encourages child abuse.' However, he noted a probation report indicated Dean took full responsibility and had voluntarily engaged in private therapy to address her behaviour.
Dean was handed a 16-month suspended sentence, 200 hours of unpaid work, 30 days of rehabilitation activity, and a 10-year sexual harm prevention order. She must also sign the sex offenders register for 10 years. Her phone was confiscated, and police can apply to extend the order if they believe she poses a risk.
