Registered sex offender from village near Bedford and Biggleswade jailed for three years after being found with more indecent images of children

Michael Rosenthal, 66, of Ford Lane, Roxton, pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images and three counts of distributing indecent images during an appearance at Luton Crown Court on Tuesday (3 December).

He was previously convicted of similar offences in 2007 and was made the subject of a SHPO, which prevented him from accessing any online forums relating to children under the age of 16. He was managed by Bedfordshire Police’s Offender Management Unit, and officers would check his devices on a regular basis.

After receiving information that someone at his address was sharing indecent images using peer-to-peer file sharing software, officers executed a warrant and seized a number of computers and storage devices, including a laptop that he had been hiding.

More than 70 videos and still images were found; ranging from the more serious category A to category B. Rosenthal was arrested and charged with the offences.

Nikki Penniston-Kordek, Investigation Officer from the Offender Management Unit, said: “I am glad that Rosenthal will now spend time in prison after he breached the conditions of his court order and continued to access and share incident images and videos of children.

“He has a clear understanding of his actions, but by continuing to re-offend, has shown a total disregard for his previous conviction, and that is something we will never tolerate in this county.

“The viewing and sharing of indecent images of children causes real harm to real children, and it is vital we investigate such crimes thoroughly, and bring perpetrators, such as Rosenthal to justice.”

Parents can visit the Parents Protect website, which is run by the Lucy Faithfull Foundation, for lots of useful resources to help prevent online child sexual abuse. It also contains a list of organisations and resources focusing on keeping children safe in the digital world.

The NSPCC Share Aware website also contains advice and tips about how children can keep themselves safe online.

To report concerns around child sexual abuse call the police on 101.