Description
A man who made and distributed thousands of indecent images of children has been jailed for four and a half years.
John Carver, aged 38, of no fixed abode, was sentenced at King's Lynn Crown Court on Friday 18 July having previously admitted 8 counts of distributing indecent images of a child, 2 counts of making indecent images of a child and 7 counts of blackmail. He also admitted failing to comply with Sex Offender Register notification requirements.
The court heard how in January 2024 Carver, a registered sex offender, disappeared from the approved premises in Northamptonshire where he was supposed to be staying.
To avoid capture, he spent the next year moving from hotel to hotel usually only staying in each one for a day or two, using different alias to avoid detection. To fund this lifestyle he sold incident images of children on the internet using various social media and storage platforms.
A complex and detailed investigation was launched to track his transactions and on the 8th of January 2025 intelligence showed Carver was on a bus to Norwich. Police were at Norwich Bus Station when he arrived and arrested him.
Following his arrest, analysis of Carver's mobile phone showed he had joined multiple groups online, offering photographs of very young children and babies. He had set up a large number online payment accounts through which he had received thousands of pounds for the indecent material. In some cases he also blackmailed buyers, asking them for money or he would report them to police.
Carver was sentenced to four and a half years imprisonment and a further four and a half years on extended licence. He remains on the Sex Offenders Register for life and his Sexual Harm Prevention Order remains indefinite.
Following sentencing Detective Constable Aaron Alley said,
"Carver is an extremely dangerous individual who demonstrated a chilling disregard for the children depicted in the images he was sharing.
“He believed he could evade justice. But thanks to the tireless work of officers he was left with no choice but to plead guilty after a catalogue of evidence was gathered against him.
“Every single indecent image and video shared online represents a real child somewhere in the world enduring unimaginable abuse.
“We remain absolutely committed to protecting children from harm, relentlessly pursuing those who exploit them, and ensuring they are brought before the courts.”
2025-04-07
A registered sex offender made thousands of pounds selling indecent images of children to people who he then tried to blackmail, prosecutors claim.
John Carver, 37, is accused of 17 offences including demanding money with menaces by threatening to track people down and call police.
Norwich Magistrates’ Court heard it was alleged he sold indecent images between September 2024 and January 2025 to online users of the Telegram app including in Norfolk.
Josephine Jones, prosecuting, said he had swapped devices to cover his tracks.
Carver, who is from Northampton, entered no plea to seven counts of blackmail and eight counts of distributing 5,272 indecent child images and videos, many category A - the most serious.
He is also charged with possessing category A images and failing to comply with sex offender notification requirements by not telling police his whereabouts.
He was remanded into custody until a hearing at Norwich Crown Court on May 2.