Bournemouth man arrested with 1,000 indecent images of children

Peter Sprake-Follett, aged 71 and of Alma Road, Bournemouth, pleaded guilty to three charges of taking indecent photographs of a child at Poole Magistrates’ Court on June 14.

Victoria Hill prosecutor said police received information which prompted them to search the defendant’s address.

Officers found devices containing 1,015 Category C images, 26 Category B images and 54 of the most serious Category A images.

The charges relate to a period between January 30, 2018 and July 19, 2023.

However, Ms Hill said in a police interview that the defendant admitted possessing images on and off for more than ten years.

She added that there are a large number of images showing a large number of different victims.

Mr Legg said the defendant immediately confessed and was both sincerely sorry and horrified by his actions.

Magistrates Dr Marion Mackey, Ms Christie Squibb and Mr Jon Hussey agreed the matter was too serious to be dealt with in the magistrates’ court and referred it to the crown court.

Sprake-Follett will next appear at Bournemouth Crown Court on July 12, 2024 at 10am.