Man with over 300 indecent images of children on mobile phone is jailed

Phillip Peach, 35, was arrested at his home address on Drayton Street, Winchester, on 25 June 2024 after police received information that he had been accessing indecent images of children.

Following his arrest, police examined his digital devices where 308 images were recovered with 43 being graded as Category A – the most serious category. A further 24 were graded as Category B and 241 as Category C.

Peach had served prison time for similar offences and had previously been handed a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) by the courts. During the investigation it was found he had breached his SHPO by continuing to communicate with children, deleting data and having electronic devices not registered with police.

He was subsequently charged with three counts of making indecent photographs of children and six counts of breach of a sexual harm prevention order.

Appearing at Winchester Crown Court on 3 March, Peach admitted all of the charges and was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison.

Detective Constable Aimee Scott-Molloy, from the Internet Child Abuse Investigation Team (ICAT), said: “Despite court orders placed upon him, Phillip Peach continued to gather indecent images of children. Through our investigations and his ongoing management by our Offender Management Team, we were able to identify multiple breaches of his Sexual Harm Prevention Order and uncover hundreds of indecent images of children.

"This serves as a clear example of our commitment to work with our partners to ensure those who are intent on breaking the law are monitored, so that the most vulnerable within our communities are protected.

"The Internet Child Abuse Team is a specialist team dedicated to targeting individuals who cause serious harm to children. We remain determined to continue to remove individuals like Peach from our communities, ensuring the safety and protection of children."