Larkfield sex offender who hid laptop containing indecent images of children behind a toilet jailed
14:47, 03 July 2019
updated: 15:16, 03 July 2019
A sex offender has been jailed after workmen found a hidden laptop containing sickening images of children behind a toilet.
Russell Hogg concealed the computer behind a wooden panel so he could secretly search for illegal material online.
In March police attended a Larkfield address where Hogg had been staying, following a report the device had been discovered by people trying to fix the broken lavatory.
Data recovered from the laptop identified 1,015 indecent images of children.
The 59-year-old, of no fixed address, was arrested and was found to have breached the terms of a sexual harm prevention order, which had been imposed in relation to previous offences and which restricted his use of electronic devices.
Police carried out checks and discovered Hogg's fingerprints on the computer. He told police he had used the laptop but denied it was his and claimed it belonged to a dead uncle.
Hogg also insisted he hadn’t carried out any searches relating to indecent images.
He suggested another person who may have had access to it was to blame, adding the reason why only his fingerprints were recovered was because the real culprit must have worn gloves.
An investigation also revealed phone calls Hogg had made from prison to a relative, expressing concern the laptop had been discovered, but he claimed the caller was another prisoner pretending to be him.
Appearing at Maidstone Crown Court he pleaded guilty to breaching a sexual harm prevention order and making indecent photographs of children.
Yesterday he was sentenced to two years and six months imprisonment. He will also remain on the sex offenders’ register indefinitely.
DC Wes Marston said: "Hogg is a repeat offender who was subject to strict conditions forbidding access to devices which could be used to store digital images. He was visited on a number of occasions by our officers to check he was not in breach of these conditions and clearly went to great lengths to conceal the laptop.
"Make no mistake, the material people like Hogg seek and downloaded will have resulted from real children suffering appalling abuse.
"Hogg has shown he is determined to access illegal images of children and clearly has no understanding of the gravity of his actions and must face the consequences. I would like to praise the vigilance shown by members of the public, who provided information which helped us detect Hogg’s latest offences and which in turn has ensured a successful investigation."
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