Thatcham businessman caught with 1,000 child sex images, Paul David Ferguson, sent to crown court for sentencing

A businessman was caught with child sex images of victims as young as eight years old.

Paul David Ferguson had amassed almost 1,000 moving and still images when his Thatcham home was raided.

On Wednesday, February 4, the 63-year-old, of Mallards Reach, appeared for sentencing at Reading Magistrates’ Court.

But, after hearing details of what children in some of the images had been coerced into doing, magistrates decided their own powers of punishment were insufficient.

Chad Echakowitz, prosecuting, said police received intelligence that Ferguson had been using “peer-to-peer sharing software to access files containing child abuse material”.

When challenged, the court heard, he told police he “may have accidentally downloaded something” before clamming up and replying “no comment” to questions.

Forensic examination of his devices showed he had used specific search items to access paedophilic material.

Ferguson, who has worked in the IT business, admitted possessing 12 moving and still images of children in Category A – the most serious, involving penetration.

Next, he admitted possessing 50 still and moving images of children in category B.

Finally, Ferguson admitted having 858 images of children in Category C.

All the offences were committed in Thatcham between April 2015 and August 2023.

Mr Echakowitz said some of the images depicted children as young as eight being abused in penetrative sex acts, although the majority of the worst images involved children aged 11 years or upwards.

Jeremy Yuille, defending, urged magistrates to deal with the case themselves.

He said that, despite the high number of images, they had been amassed over a considerable time period and went on: “This is not someone who is feasting his eyes on unpleasant images day in, day out, as is often the case; his interest is in certain kinds of images.

“He recognises the damage caused to his wife and son.

“These cases are often reported in the press and this has its own consequences; indeed, he has shown me such reports and that causes him concern.”

Referring to the contents of a pre-sentence report, Mr Yuille said: “Perhaps he didn’t express his remorse sufficiently to probation.”

He said his client had already sought out psycho-sexual treatment and went on: “The report suggests a [sex offenders] programme is viable, rather than a period of immediate custody; in my submission this is the correct way forward.”

But, after retiring to confer, magistrates decided that their own powers of punishment were insufficient.

They sent the case to be sentenced by a judge sitting at Reading Crown Court on a date to be fixed.

Ferguson was meanwhile ordered to sign the Sex Offenders Register and released on unconditional bail.