A MAN dubbed a “dangerous offender” by the court stacked up 32 criminal offences of a sexual nature appeared at Snaresbrook Crown Court at the start of the month – and was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
The trial formally began back on 10th March, when Daniel Archbold, 35, pleaded guilty to nine counts of sexual assault of a child and 21 counts of taking indecent images of children. He was further charged with two counts of rape, to which he pleaded not guilty. The Court went on to hear the evidence and two days later the jury deliberated over the two charges – reaching a verdict of “guilty” in less than 20 minutes.
Sentence was then handed down. In addition to the prison sentence of 16 years (reduced to 15 years on account of his “guilty” plea), Archbold was given an extended sentence, consisting of having to spend a further year on licence. He was also made the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and was made subject to Sex Offender notifications indefinitely. Three further counts of making indecent images of children will lie on file.
The convictions came about after a police investigation which began in April 2018. Police were tipped off that Archbold was storing indecent images of children on a computer. Police seized the equipment, and Archbold was released on bail while they investigated. Detectives quickly found a collection of indecent material involving children, and new restrictions were placed on Archbold’s bail while the investigation continued.
Police were able to identify some of the child victims in the images and had to inform their families. They later found that Archbold had broken his bail conditions by making contact with some of his victims and by searching for child pornography on the internet. He was sent to prison for eight weeks as a result. The day before he was due to be released, 12th September 2019, the CPS decided that he should be charged with the further offences for which he was tried this year.
Detective Constable Sam Rivers, who led the investigation, said, “Archbold’s actions were sickening and affected the lives of so many people. The fact that he breached his Sexual Risk Order twice shows just how prolific and dangerous he is. Prison is the only place for this man and thanks to the person who reported their concerns to us and the subsequent investigation, he will be there for a long time.
“This has been a particularly distressing case for everyone involved and I commend everyone who played their part in giving evidence and supporting our enquiries. People who look at or share indecent images of children online may think that their offending is harmless but that couldn’t be further from the truth. There is a vulnerable child being exploited and abused in every indecent image or video. By viewing and distributing them, the abuse is repeated over and again. Anyone who tries to find or distribute indecent images of children online can expect to come to our attention, and eventually be arrested and prosecuted.”
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