Ribble Valley sex offender jailed for five years after being found with indecent images of children

Martin Blake, of Redwood Drive, Longridge, pleaded guilty to possession of indecent images of children, as well as breaching his Sex Offender Notification Requirements and his Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

The 58-year-old was given a five-year custodial sentence, a revised 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order and was ordered to sign the Sex Offenders Register for life, at Preston Crown Court earlier this week.

MOSOVO offender manager Rob Richards, who conducted the investigation, said: “Martin Blake is an incredibly deceptive individual, who has rightly received the maximum possible sentence for his offences.”

Officers from the East MOSOVO (Management of Sexual or Violent Offenders) Team carried out a compliance visit at the home of Martin Blake in December after concerns were raised that he was not complying with the requirements of his Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Blake, who had previously been convicted for child prostitution and numerous fraud offences, was already required to adhere to the notification requirements and a court order restricting his access and usage of the internet.

During the visit, various electronic devices were seized, including an iPhone, USB sticks and a PC.

After an extensive investigation, a mixture of Category A, B ad C indecent images were found on the PC, iPhone and five USB sticks. It was also found that Blake had committed a significant number of other breaches, including using numerous unregistered names and bank accounts, as well as failing to provide further devices identified in the investigation.

Rob Richards added: “Blake clearly had no intention of complying with the conditions applied to him, and he has now been held to account for his actions. While Blake clearly has a sexual interest in male children, the motive for using so many names, companies and financial accounts is still unclear.

“However, at MOSOVO we are very clear, our role is to protect the public from dangerous predators like Blake, and we will work tirelessly to keep our communities safe.”