A 'sexual predator' said by police to have a 'keen and clear interest' in child sex abuse has been jailed. Steven Blake, 37, was locked up for 33 months - just under three years - following an investigation by a specialist Greater Manchester Police unit.
Blake, of Minor Street in Failsworth, Oldham, was convicted of making indecent photographs, or pseudo photographs, of children, possession of extreme pornographic images, possessing prohibited images of children and intentionally encouraging or assisting the commission of an indictable offence, police said.
The Crown Prosecution Service said had been communicating on the Kik messaging app with an undercover police officer, which led to his arrest and his IT equipment being seized. Blake was jailed by a judge at Manchester's Minshull Street Crown Court on Tuesday.
Police found indecent images on his camera and computer hard drive after in March, 2020, GMP said. The CPS confirmed that in total, 1,821 vile images were discovered, of which 777 were classed as being in the most serious of Category A.
The CPS confirmed Blake pleaded guilty to making indecent photographs of a child between January 1, 2008 and March 9, 2020 - there were 777 Category A images; making indecent photographs of a child between January 1, 2008 and March 9, 2020 involving 507 Category B images and making indecent photographs of a child between January 1, 2008 and March 9, 2020 involving 436 Category C images.
Blake also admitted possession of a prohibited image of a child on March 10, 2020, a charged said to involve 42 images, and possession of extreme pornography on the same date involving 59 images. Those guilty pleas were entered at Minshull Street on May 11, 2021.
He went on - on May 6 this year - to admit a charge of intentionally encouraging or assisting in the commission of an offence, namely the sexual assault of a child aged under 13, contrary to the Sexual Offences Act 2003, the CPS added.
Details were shared on Facebook by GMP Failsworth and Hollinwood. They said in a post: "A man from Failsworth has been jailed for possessing extreme pornographic images and making indecent images following an investigation by our Online Child Abuse Investigation Team.
"Steven Blake, 37, of Minor Street, Failsworth, was sentenced yesterday - Tuesday - after officers found indecent images on his camera and hard drive following information received in March, 2020.
"He was sentenced to 33 months for three counts of making indecent photographs or pseudo photographs of children, possession of extreme pornographic images, possessing prohibited images of children and intentionally encouraging or assisting the commission of an indictable offence."
Detective Constable Helen Vernon, from GMP's Online Child Abuse Investigation Team, said: "Blake was a sexual predator with a keen and clear sexual interest in the sexual abuse of very young children.
"He's just one of the many that we are investigating and working to bring to justice by putting them behind bars where they belong."
