Pervert Planted Sickening Child Abuse Images On Trains

A sick pervert deliberately planted disturbing print-outs of young children being abused on train services.

Steve Blackthorne, 38, of Winchester, Hampshire left bundles of printed A4 sheets containing the images – traumatising unsuspecting witnesses who found them.

He received two years imprisonment, suspended for two years and must comply with a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Blackthorne pleaded guilty to the making and distribution of indecent photographs / pseudo-photographs of a child.

He must complete 150 of unpaid work and pay £650 costs.

Winchester Crown Court heard how on Sunday, January 23, 2022 a train guard was handed six pages of A4 sheets by a passenger.

They had been left behind by Blackthorne when he departed the service at Basingstoke.

The pages contained horrific indecent graphic images of children: 16 Category A (the most severe), five Category B and 16 Category C.

The images left the guard in tears and he alerted British Transport Police (BTP) who met the train at Southampton station.

Just a few days later, on Monday January 31 a member of cleaning crew discovered a further batch of images when he pulled down a folding table. 

Horrified and upset by what the pages contained he immediately reported it to his manager who in turn called BTP).

The six pages again contained 16 Category A, five Category B and 16 Category C indecent images of children.

A CCTV search identified Blackthorne as the passenger who had left behind the print outs.

On Monday, March 14 officers swooped on Blackthorne at Basingstoke station and arrested him. 

A search of his mobile phone found 60 Category A, 27 Category B and 81 Category C images.

A laptop he was carrying was also seized and upon examination was found to contain two Category A and three Category C images.

A search of his home address produced another laptop which held a further 10 Category A images.

In police interview he admitted printing the images out at work from a work computer.

Investigating officer DC Phil James said: “Such was the level of Blackthorne’s depravity that the images he had collated left those who inadvertently happened upon them deeply traumatised.

“No one in their right mind would ever willingly choose to see these sickening images.

“Blackthorne showed no shame in his perversion even transferring the images to a work computer so he could print them out at work to look at at his leisure.”