Crawley man William Mousdell has been jailed for almost three years after being found with thousands of indecent images of children.
Mousdell, 49, of Beeches Crescent in Crawley, was arrested at his home on 14 December, 2022, after police linked his address to the uploading of indecent images of children to the internet.
Several devices were seized and found to contain thousands of indecent images of children, including hundreds of the most serious, Category A, moving and still images.
Some of the images were non-sexual pictures of children known to him, which had been edited to appear to show sexual and violent acts.
Mousdell was subsequently charged with, and convicted of, three counts of making or possessing indecent images of children.
At Lewes Crown Court on 28 March, 2024, Mousdell was jailed for 31 months, given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, ordered to sign the Sex Offenders’ Register and given multiple Restraining Orders.
Investigator Rob Henshaw said: “William Mousdell is a committed offender, who went to great lengths to seek out, create and share the most abhorrent images of children.
He is a devious and manipulative individual, who hid his activities from those closest to him and has left both his own and extended families devastated.
“Every child that appeared in those images was violated by Mousdell and his contacts online, including some children he knew personally. That betrayal of trust cannot be overstated.
“Mousdell is now behind bars where he can cause no further harm, and will be subject to a number of strict court orders that will severely limit his ability to reoffend once released.
“I cannot commend enough the strength and the bravery of the victims in this matter and the immediate families who have supported this investigation throughout with courage in face of such traumatic revelations.”
