Former Labour minister jailed for 28 months for making and distributing more than 1,000 child abuse images
12 May 2023, 12:50 | Updated: 12 May 2023, 14:27
A former Labour MP has been jailed for more than two years after being found with nearly 1,500 child abuse images.
Paul Clark, 66, told police after being caught during a raid on his home: "I kept telling myself to stop."
Clark, who represented Gillingham in Kent from 1997-2010, pleaded guilty to making and distributing indecent images of children in December and sentenced to 28 months in prison at Maidstone Crown Court on Friday, Kent Online reported.
He is the former parliamentary private secretary to senior MPs in the Labour Party including deputy Prime Minister John Prescott and education secretary Ed Balls.
Clark has been put on the Sex Offenders’ List for ten years and will be subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention order for the same period.
Prosecutor Daniel Stevenson said National Crime Agency officers went to Clark's home in Gillingham in May 2021 to search his phone, laptops and hard drives.
Clark told the law enforcement agents: "I know why you are here..I kept telling myself to stop," the court heard.
Clark had also had conversations about his sick desires on messaging apps like WhatsApp and Kik.
The former MP accessed 298 category A videos and stills, 415 from category B and 733 from category C, a total of 1,446 images.
One of the images showed a child aged between three and five being subjected to a sex act by an adult.
Mr Stevenson added: "This video was last accessed on the defendant’s device on March 15 2021 and was attached to an email sent to the MP’s Hotmail account."
None of the offences were committed while Clark was an MP, his lawyer said.
Catrin Attwell, specialist prosecutor of the CPS’ organised child sexual abuse unit, said: "Paul Clark knew he was in possession of and shared indecent images of children but did not admit his wrongdoing when interviewed under caution. When later presented with the overwhelming evidence, he pleaded guilty.
"Examination of the electronic devices revealed offences relating to indecent images of children on five devices, this included imagery of children as young as three and a high number of moving images.
"The electronic devices also revealed chatlogs in which Clark discussed his sexual desires, distributed indecent images of children to others for their sexual gratification and used social media to identify and talk to users under the age of 18.
"Our Organised Child Sexual Abuse Unit was set up in April 2022 to prosecute child sexual abuse. We work closely with law enforcement agencies to build strong cases against offenders using the internet and social media to commit sexual offences and are determined to help stop the devastating impact of these crimes on victims and bring offenders to justice.”
