Paedo with 18,000 images pleads guilty

A WINNERSH man has been given a suspended jail sentence after being caught with more than 18,000 indecent images of children on his home computer.

On Friday, March 23 at Reading Crown Court, Steven Coston, 52, of Reading Road, Winnersh, pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children. He was caught following a Thames Valley Police investigation.

The paedophile was sentenced to 14 months’ imprisonment, suspended for two years for the pictures. More than 1,000 of them were judged to be Category A pictures, the worst kind of images.

He has also been ordered to carry out 150 hours of community service and complete a rehabilitation activity requirement.

A Sexual Harm Prevention Order was also imposed on Coston, alongside a Sex Offenders Notification Requirement.

Investigating officer, Detective Constable Peter Cave, said: “A warrant was executed at Steven Coston’s home on the June 7, 2016, during which his computers and phones were seized.

“Careful analysis of these devices found 1,121 images of category A, 2,566 images of category B and 14,750 images of category C. A total of four videos were also discovered on his devices.

“Coston downloaded the images between November 17, 2011 and June 7, 2016.

“He was arrested on the day the warrant was executed and following a thorough investigation by Thames Valley Police, he was charged on December 18 last year.

“I would like to thank all those staff and officers who worked on this investigation, as well as our partners, the National Crime Agency, who we worked with throughout this case, and the Crown Prosecution Service for bringing Coston before the courts.”