Man jailed after haul of child abuse images found

A sex offender has been jailed  for four years after detectives discovered a large amount of child abuse images at his home.

Philip Cliffe, aged 41, came to the attention of Nottinghamshire Police in October 2023 when his IP address - the unique reference code linking an individual account holder to the internet - was linked to images of child sexual abuse.

Detectives carried out a search at his home address and recovered several electronic devices including a laptop and a memory stick.

Forensic analysis of the devices revealed thousands of images showing the sexual abuse of children - some of them babies.

Around 1,000 of the images were graded as Category A - depicting the most serious abuse that can be perpetrated by adults against children.

Cliffe's devices were also found to contain extreme adult pornographic material.

Cliffe, of  Carlton, declined to answer officers' questions in his police interview, but later pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children, possessing a prohibited image of a child, and possessing extreme (adult) pornographic images.

Appearing at Nottinghamshire Crown Court on Friday he was jailed for four years.

Detective Constable Richard Cashmore, of Nottinghamshire Police, said:

"Cliffe was found in possession of some of the most disgusting and disturbing images and videos I have viewed.

"I sometimes hear people referring to such material as 'child pornography' - but in reality there is no such thing. 

"What there is instead are still and moving images of the most appalling  sexual abuse committed against children who are too young to understand let alone consent to what is happening to them.

"Even though people like Cliffe are not carrying out this abuse themselves, they are directly contributing to it by consuming such material.

"I am pleased he has now been jailed and hope this sentence serves as a warning to others about acting in the same way."