Hampshire man Ross McNaughton who was caught with more than 23,000 child abuse pictures is jailed for 30 months

Ross McNaughton, 53, admitted three counts of possessing an indecent photograph or pseudo-photograph of a child and breaching a sexual risk order.

He appeared at Winchester Crown Court today and was sentenced to 30 months in prison.

Officers attended McNaughton’s home on Saturday, December 4 last year and seized items including a tablet, computer, laptops and a camera and arrested him.

Forensic examinations revealed he had 23,003 indecent images – including 18 movies – stored on a tablet.

Of these images, 608 were Category A – the most serious, while 969 were Category B and 21,426 were Category C. The files contained pictures of babies, toddlers and preteens.

The forensic examiner found no evidence of distribution and there was no evidence to suggest there were any conversations with adults or children regarding child abuse materials.

In his police interview, McNaughton, of Kings Road, Basingstoke, admitted that no one else used the tablet and that he was sexually aroused by the images.

PC Sarah Tickner from Hampshire police’s Internet Child Abuse Team led the investigation.

She said: ‘McNaughton had an extremely large collection of indecent images stored on one of his devices and some children depicted were babies.

‘He clearly poses a risk to children and I am glad to see that he is now behind bars. He will have strict conditions imposed upon him when he is released from prison.

‘I hope this investigation highlights our commitment to keeping children in our community safe and that we will do everything we can to ensure offenders are put before the courts.’

An NSPCC spokesperson said: ‘The ease with which McNaughton appears to have amassed this enormous collection of indecent images shows the disturbing accessibility of this kind of content online.

“Children continue to be put unacceptably at risk by the online world. The government must prioritise the Online Safety Bill and deliver this crucial piece of legislation without further delay to ensure tech firms stop preventable harm to children.’