Paedophile spared jail after police delays

A judge has spared a paedophile from prison and told him he has police and prosecutors to thank after a series of blunders allowed him to walk free.

David Andrews, 65, admitted possession of more than 13,000 indecent images of children, of which almost 4,000 showed child abuse, when he appeared at Plymouth Crown Court.

But judge Robert Linford said he was unable to serve him with a custodial sentence because of the “totally unacceptable” two-and-a-half year delay between the initial investigation and sentencing.

Judge Linford added that Andrews was charged incorrectly by the Crown Prosecution Service after it emerged he had admitted in a police interview a more serious offence of sharing the images.

Andrews was handed a two-year prison sentence suspended for two years. Judge Linford said he would have gone to jail if he had been quickly investigated, charged and convicted.

He demanded answers from Devon and Cornwall Police and the CPS after criticising the length of time it took for the defendant to appear at court and the apparent decision to charge him with a lesser offence.

Judge Linford told Andrews: “You have not got me to thank for the fact that you are not serving a sentence of imprisonment but the prosecution and the police.”

The court heard the force first had information that images of children being sexually abused were being downloaded in February 2017. A police spokesperson said the force was passed a file from the National Crime Agency in November 2017 and that Andrews was arrested in January 2018.