Convicted Northampton sex offender jailed after police find 115 indecent images of children
A convicted sex offender from Northampton has been jailed again, after 115 indecent images of children – described by police as “abhorrent” – were found on his computer.
Michael Stephen Lewis, of Deal Street, appeared at Northampton Crown Court on January 2 to be sentenced after he pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent photographs/pseudo-photographs of a child, one count of possessing extreme pornographic images involving animals, one count of possessing a prohibited image of a child, one count of breaching his SHPO and one count of failing to comply with notification requirements.
As a registered sex offender, the 64-year-old was required to abide by a number of conditions as part of his Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO). One of these conditions was to expect unannounced visits from the police.
On September 13, 2021, officers visited Lewis’ house and when they asked him to produce his internet enabled devices for inspection, they suspected that his computer, which was custom built, had possible encryption software on it.
Lewis denied installing the encryption software himself however his devices were seized and upon examination, they were found to contain a number of indecent images of children – 115 in total with 47 (41 photographs and six videos) being Category A, which is the most serious.
Lead investigator PC Carl Gardner from the force’s MOSOVO Team said: “I am pleased to see Michael Lewis sent to prison for nearly eight years for these very serious offences, and I hope it shows our local communities just how seriously we take these types of cases.
“Registered sex offenders like Lewis are very closely managed by our team and we regularly show up at their homes, day and night, to ensure they are abiding by their conditions. Any breaches are dealt with robustly and with an approach of zero-tolerance.
“The images found on Lewis’ computer were abhorrent and by ensuring that he returns to prison, we are keeping the public in this county safe.
“We will continue working hard to ensure more people like him also find themselves behind bars.”
Lewis was sentenced to seven years and ten months in prison.