Sheffield Crown Court: Jailed paedophile caught with indecent images of children hopes to open restaurant

Sheffield Crown Court heard on December 14 how Emilio Calderon, aged 30, was found by police to have been distributing indecent images, with children as young as a baby featured.

Zaiban Alam, prosecuting, said: “At 7.45am, on March 23, 2021, police officers executed a search warrant at Gordon Street, Doncaster. He lives alone. He allowed officers inside and he was arrested. Various devices were seized.”

Police found 357 category A, 275 category B, and 297 category C indecent mages of children across three electronic devices including a drive system and two mobile phones, according to Ms Alam, with the category A images regarded as the most serious.

Ms Alam added that an analysis of the devices revealed Calderon, of Gordon Street, near Doncaster city centre, had used a variety of search terms indicative of searching for indecent images of children and there was evidence of a conversation with a contact with both expressing a desire to have sex with a pre-teenage youngster.

Judge Rachael Harrison confirmed that the indecent images included a four-month-old baby and children aged up to the age of 15 and that Calderon had been looking at indecent images of children for a long time.

Calderon, who has no previous convictions, pleaded guilty to one count of distributing category A indecent images of children and one count of distributing category C indecent images of children, and to three counts of making indecent images relating to categories A, B and C.

Defence barrister Richard Etherington said Calderon is ‘disgusted and ashamed’ by his actions and he regarded the nature of his conversations concerning children as ‘role play’ only.

Mr Etherington added: “He describes it as going down a rabbit hole – tumbling and tumbling and unable to stop but fortunately he did stop.”

Calderon has formed a relationship and his new partner, who attended outside court during the hearing, is aware of his offences, according to Mr Etherington.

Mr Etherington said: “He tells me he is disgusted and ashamed while looking forward to building a good future for himself.”

He added that Calderon recognises that by seeking out and consuming these kind of indecent images he has contributed to the market of that kind of imagery and to the exploitation of children.

Mr Etherington said: “He works for Amazon as a team leader and he hopes to finish his business degree and he wants to open a restaurant.”

Judge Harrison who sentenced Calderon to two years and two months of custody told him: “Present on at least one of your devices was the Tor programme, which allows you to go looking without getting caught.”

She recognised that Calderon has arranged therapy for himself but she stressed that those who involve themselves with indecent images of a baby being abused can only expect immediate prison. She added that the ages of the children involved had been an aggravating feature of Calderon’s offending.