This was the fifth time that he was sentenced for offences involving indecent images of children
Sex offender with ‘deep-seated sexual interest in children’ jailed again(Image: Humberside Police)
A serial sex offender with a “chronic and deep-seated sexual interest in children” has been jailed again after failing to learn his lesson following three previous prison sentences. Robert Johnson was found with sickening sexual images of children, some of them as young as just five years old, and he was in breach of court orders designed to tackle his “engrained” behaviour, Hull Crown Court heard.
Johnson, 38, of Louis Street, off Spring Bank, Hull, but recently in custody on remand, admitted three offences of breaching his requirements as a convicted sex offender as well as breaching a sexual harm prevention order. He also admitted three offences of making indecent images of children and another of possessing prohibited images of children.
Maya Hanson, prosecuting, said that a sexual harm prevention order was made on January 19, 2018 and a probation officer was responsible for managing Johnson in the community. His mobile phone was checked by the officer on August 27, as had happened many times before.
Two email addresses were found that had not been registered and Google searches were not in the browsing history. “The defendant had deleted some of his internet search history,” said Miss Hanson.
There were 937 deleted searches. The officer found an indecent image of a 13-year-old girl and the police were alerted. Johnson’s phone was seized. Images of girls, including ages of five, seven and nine, were found.
There were 16 images in the most serious Category A, 11 in Category B and 36 in Category C as well as 39 prohibited images described by Johnson as cartoons. He failed to register his address within three days of his release from prison.
Johnson had previous convictions for sexual offences in 2014, 2017 and 2021, including being jailed for three years and, on a later occasion, for 18 months. He had been jailed for 20 months on February 16, 2024.
On that occasion, he admitted breaching his requirements as a convicted sex offender to register his address on June 5, 2023. He also admitted three offences of possessing indecent photographs of children, one of making indecent images of children and another of possessing extreme sexual images involving animals on October 22, 2022.
Hannah Turner, mitigating, said that Johnson pleaded guilty and there was no attempt to contact real children. “There is very little that can be said by way of mitigation,” said Miss Turner. “He fully accepts the offences and he has throughout the court procedures.
“He has – and, I imagine, he will continue to – held his hands up to this offending.” He was an “avid gamer” and he hoped to be able to keep his Xbox and other games consoles.
Judge Mark Bury told Johnson: “It’s clear to me that you have a chronic and deep-seated sexual interest in children, albeit that you have not committed contact offences and there is no evidence that you are likely to in the future.” This was the fifth time that Johnson was being sentenced for offences involving indecent images of children.
“It’s clear that you had browsed sites that you should not have been browsing,” said Judge Bury. Every time someone like Johnson looked at indecent images of children to “get a sexual thrill” out of doing so, it furthered child abuse.
“You have a deeply engrained sexual interest in children. The time has come where a longer sentence of imprisonment is appropriate.”
Johnson was jailed for three years and eight months. He will be subject to an indefinite sexual harm prevention order and he will have to register as a sex offender indefinitely.
At the previous hearing in February 2024, the court was told that police went to a bail hostel where Johnson was living at the time and found indecent images of children on his mobile phone. Johnson later reported that he was homeless but he failed to attend another arranged meeting over his registration.
Police contacted him by telephone but he became argumentative, did not cooperate and ended the call. Police sent a text message to Johnson instructing him to make contact but he did not comply. He was arrested and another phone was seized.
There were 512 indecent images of children on it, some of them in the most serious category and involving children as young as three. There were videos as well as still images.