November 12, 2015 10.06 am This story is over 99 months old

Lincolnshire paedophile jailed for possessing over 9,000 indecent images of children

Behind bars: A Lincolnshire paedophile has been jailed for two and a half years after being caught with over 9,000 indecent images of children.

A Lincolnshire paedophile has been jailed for two and a half years after being caught with over 9,000 indecent images of children.

Paul Hickling, 30, was arrested on July 17, 2014 after police executed a warrant at his address on Church Street, South Witham.

He was subsequently charged with making and possessing a number of images of children, which he said he had accessed via online file sharing websites such as Limewire and latterly Shereaza.

Hickling pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of a child; one count of possessing prohibited images of a child; and one count of possessing an extreme pornographic image at Lincoln Crown Court.

The court heard he had 9,222 indecent images of children ranging from category C to category A, plus 18 extreme pornographic images and 88 prohibited images.

Hickling, who since his arrest had been living at Barker Hill in Lowdham, Nottinghamshire, was sentenced to two years and six months in prison on November 9.