Peterborough paedophile had indecent images on ‘hidden’ phone

Police have said officers found indecent images of children on a “hidden” mobile phone during a stop on a convicted paedophile.

Specialist officers dealing with sex offenders visited Peter Barber, 71, at his home in Norburn, Bretton, Peterborough, in January.

Thousands of offensive images of children were discovered on the device, ‘hidden’ under Barber’s covers.

Cambridgeshire Police released details of their investigation after Barber admitted a string of sex offences and was sentenced to 13 years in prison.

Barber was convicted at Cambridge Crown Court on September 17.

A court official said he had admitted a series of offences including: making an indecent photograph of a child, distributing an indecent photograph of a child, possessing extremely pornographic images, possessing a prohibited image of a child, arranging for the sexual exploitation of a child under 13 and attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child.

According to police, the sentence also took into account a violation of an order to prevent sexual abuse and failure to comply with the reporting obligation for sex offenders.

Barber’s phone contained thousands of images of category A abuse – the most serious.

“During the visit, officers checked Barber’s cell phone, which was hidden under his covers,” a police spokesperson said in a statement.

“They discovered thousands of offensive images of children, nearly 4,000 of which were rated the most serious, Category A.

“Officers also found evidence that Barber had sexual contact with children he believed were 11 and 12 years old.”

According to the police, the prison sentence also took into account a violation of an order to prevent sexual abuse and failure to comply with the reporting obligation for sex offenders.

“Barber has done everything he can to conceal his ongoing sexual offending, completely ignoring sexual abuse prevention and reporting regulations,” said PC Emily Heriot.

“These new convictions reflect the serious risk he poses to children.”