Man jailed for possessing thousands of indecent images of children

A man has been jailed after thousands of indecent images of children were found on his devices.

Josh Scott, 36, from Hanham, in South Gloucestershire, was sentenced to 21 years and four months and given a lifetime Sexual Harm Prevention order (SHPO) at Bristol Crown Court on Thursday 13 August.

He will serve 13 years in prison with the remainder of his sentence to be served on license.

Scott pleaded guilty to all charges and was convicted of more than 10 offences including the taking of indecent photographs of children, possessing extreme pornographic images, inciting a girl under 13 to engage in sexual activity and inciting a child to watch/look at an image of sexual activity. These offences were committed against a number of children from all over the UK.

He was initially arrested in December 2025 for the offences of sexual communication with a child and cause/incite a girl under 13 to engage in sexual activity, following referrals received from both the National Crime Agency (NCA), on behalf of the United States Homeland Security Investigations Team, and Greater Manchester Police.

Following Scott’s arrest, several devices belonging to him were seized and subsequently examined and he was further arrested on 14 May for the offences he has since been convicted of and was remanded into custody the same day.

Analysis found Scott had a total of 9,200 indecent images of children on his devices (and eight images of extreme pornography), with 1,969 of those images being rated at the most severe category A, a total of 3,344 were at category B, and a total of 3,887 were of category C.

The ages of the children featured in the videos found on his devices span from approximately three months old and upwards, but the majority of the children featured are around eight-14 years of age.

He also added more than 40 children on the social networking sites Snapchat and TikTok. He told them he was 13-14 years old and encouraged them to send intimate pictures and videos of themselves. Scott screen recorded these images before replying with videos of himself carrying out acts of a sexual nature. The age of these children ranged from seven to 16 years old.  

He also exposed himself to a child under 10 on TikTok.

Investigating officers have maintained contact with the victims and their families who have been offered access to specialist support services they may benefit from.

DC James Lester, from the Internet Child Abuse Team (ICAT), said: “This investigation, and the significant sentence imposed, demonstrates how seriously these offences are treated. Scott’s actions were driven purely by his own selfish desires, and the importance of identifying, prosecuting and convicting those who commit offences involving the sexual abuse of children cannot be overstated.

His offending involved grooming and coercing children as young as seven years old into harmful sexual behaviour. Such crimes cause immense harm and will have a lasting impact on his victims throughout their lives.

We would like to praise the victims and their families for their courage in speaking out and supporting this investigation. Conclusions like this are only possible because of their bravery and willingness to assist in bringing offenders to justice.”