St Leonards men jailed for indecent images of children

Two men from St Leonards have been jailed after pleading guilty to making and distributing indecent images of children.
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Joe Wibberley, 30, of Battle Road, St Leonards, and Karl James, 30, also of Battle Road, St Leonards, were both sentenced at Lewes Crown Court.

At Hastings Magistrates Court in February, Wibberley indicated a plea of guilty to distributing two Category A and two Category B indecent images of children. The offences took place between December 15, 2017, and October 22, 2018.

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He also indicated guilty pleas to charges of making no fewer than 334 Category A indecent images of children, 208 Category B indecent images of children and 673 Category C indecent images of children, on, or before, October 30, 2018.

Joe Wibberley and Karl James. Picture: Sussex Police SUS-210330-161516001Joe Wibberley and Karl James. Picture: Sussex Police SUS-210330-161516001
Joe Wibberley and Karl James. Picture: Sussex Police SUS-210330-161516001

James indicated a plea of guilty to distributing five Category A indecent images of children and one Category A indecent movie of children. He indicated guilty pleas to distributing two Category B video images of children and one Category C image of children. The offences took place between December 15, 2017, and October 22, 2018.

He also indicated guilty pleas to charges of making no fewer than 237 Category A indecent images of children, 261 Category B indecent images of children and 287 Category C indecent images of children, on, or before, October 30, 2018.

Both men were released on conditional bail before they were sentenced on March 3. At Lewes Crown Court on that day, both men were sentenced to a total of 24 months’ imprisonment, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) confirmed.

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A sexual harm prevention order was also put in place for both Wibberley and James for a period of ten years.

Sussex Police said none of the images were believed to be of local children.

A spokesman for the force said: “This prosecution resulted from an intelligence-led investigation by officers from the Paedophile On Line Investigation Team of Sussex Police.

“The images were found to have been obtained from the Internet and none are believed to be of local children. We will always follow up such reports.”