Ipswich paedophile jailed for five-and-a-half years

Sentencing 47-year-old Edmund Hall Judge Emma Peters described some of the videos and images, especially some of babies being abused, as horrific and said: “For some inexplicable reason you have an interest in the sexual abuse of babies.”

She said when he was 17 Hall had joined the Catholic priesthood and had had to repress his sexuality.

Ipswich Crown Court heard that police officers seized an iPhone from Edmund Hall’s home in May 2021 and when it was analysed it was found to contain more than 200 indecent images and videos of children.

Nicola May, prosecuting, said that 58 of the indecent images of and 55 videos were in the most serious level A category, 60 of the still images and 16 videos were in category B and 15 still images were in the lowest level C category.

She said some of the children in the images and videos were under a year old.

In addition to the indecent images and videos of children a prohibited image of a child was also found.

Miss May said Hall had used search terms including “babies, “paedo”, “younger” and “rape” to search for the material.

There was also evidence that Hall had been distributing indecent images and videos of children to like minded people and had given advice about how to hide what they were doing.

Hall, 47, of Dunlop Road, Ipswich admitted three offences of making indecent images and videos of children in May last year, one offence of possessing a prohibited image of children, five offences of breaching a sexual harm prevention order and four offences of distributing indecent images of children.

The court heard that Hall has previous convictions for making indecent images of children dating back to 2013.

He is currently the subject of an indefinite sexual harm prevention order which has been ordered to continue. He will also have to sign the sex offenders’ register indefinitely.

Lynne Shirley for Hall said he was remorseful and had spent some time in custody.