Notts pervert who abused young boys hid online crimes from police

Christopher Farrow denied owning a phone when he was confronted on July 31, but when an officer rang the number linked to a Whatsapp account, a phone began ringing from behind his fireplace.

It was examined and indecent images of children were recovered from it: nine Category A images of boys aged six to 12, four Category B of boys aged eight to 14, and three Category C images, said prosecutor Leanne Summers.

And on July 10 the phone log showed he had shared a Category A image to a chatroom user.

The court heard he has previous convictions for indecently assaulting boys under the age of 14 and 16, in the 1970s and 1980s.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) initially alerted police after Farrow uploaded an indecent Category A image to Facebook, on September 11, 2018.

But when he was arrested in April, 2019, he denied the charge and claimed his phone had been stolen, said Ms Summers.

More referrals from the NCA revealed he uploaded two Category C images that April, and he was released under investigation.

A phone was later found beside his bed and Vodaphone confirmed the SIM was registered to him and in "regular use."

In June, Farrow, aged 60, contacted what he thought was a 14-year-old boy in an online chatroom, on June 14, this year.

In fact the boy was a decoy managed by a police officer as part of an online investigation.

There was "sexual conversation" on Whatsapp, and Farrow sent a picture of his genitals and requested a picture in return.

Matthew Smith, mitigating, said Farrow’s offences were not part of a pattern of wider offending and his previous convictions are “of some significant age.”

The new offences were “relatively limited in number,” he added.

Mr Smith said Farrow is in a stable relationship, and he is concerned about the impact a prison sentence would have on his 83-year-old partner.

"When he is in drink it affects his behaviour and it may have played a part in his offending," said Mr Smith.

"He has begun to explore his own motivation for this offending and to open up to the probation service. He has a risk that is manageable in the community."

Farrow, of Bluecoat Close, Nottingham, pleaded guilty to failing to comply with a disclosure requirement, attempted sexual communication with a child, three counts of making indecent images and one count of distributing indecent images, on September 1 and October 8.

Judge Steven Coupland told him: “You thought you were dealing with a genuinely underage boy, like the ones you had abused before. I have read a description of some of those images. They are gross.

"Anyone who possesses images like that is dealing with images of children who are really being abused.”

The judge imposed an extended prison sentence of four years and three months, followed by an extended licence period of three years. A Sexual Harm Prevention Order was made until further notice.

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