A Dudley man amassed a sickening stash of indecent images of children over a seven year period.
Ian Lavender, 58, of Beachwood Avenue, Wall Heath, admitted the following when he appeared at Dudley Magistrates' Court on Thursday, 30th October 2025:
- Three offences of making an indecent image or pseudo image of a child;
- One offence of possession of a prohibited image of a child;
- One offence of possession of an extreme pornographic image involving an animal.
Making an indecent image of a child, which is the most serious of the three, is an offence under section 1 of the Protection of Children Act 1978. It is an either way offence with a maximum sentence of 10 years' custody on conviction on indictment, 12 months' custody and/or an unlimited fine on summary conviction.
The court heard that between May 2017 and November 2024 Lavender made 2,899 category A indecent images of children, 1,828 category B images and 44,063 category C images. Making in this context relates to downloading the images from the internet, instead of producing them "at source" with a camera.
Category A images involve penetrative sexual activity; category B images involve non-penetrative sexual activity; and category C images involved sexualised poses.
In November 2024 Lavender was also found in possession of 15 prohibited images of children. This is an offence under section 62 of the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 and typically involves cartoon and computer-generated images. He was also found in possession of 35 extreme pornographic images involving sexual activity with animals, which is an offence under section 63 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008.
Magistrates were of the opinion that their sentencing powers were insufficient given the severity and totality of Lavender's offending.
Lavender was granted conditional bail until his sentencing hearing at Wolverhampton Crown Court on Thursday, 27th November 2025.
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