Source: Cambridgeshire Constabulary published on this website Monday 1 December 2025 by Jill Powell
A man found with more than 270 sexual images and videos involving children and babies has been sent to prison and placed on the Sex Offenders Register for 10 years.
Michael Mitchell’s collection of sexual imagery was discovered when police raided his home in Blenheim Close, Shepreth, South Cambridgeshire, on 5 March last year.
Police searched devices owned by the 24-year-old and found category A images – the worst level of offending – in his recently deleted folder.
Mitchell had images in all categories – A, B and C - on numerous devices and including some showing images of babies being abused.
They also uncovered evidence of Mitchell engaging in sexual communications with a teenager where he threatened to share intimate photos and videos of her to friends and family if she did not perform sex acts and send him recordings.
The teenager refused to co-operate and confided in staff at her school who reported the incident to the police.
Mitchell was sentenced to one year and eight months in prison after pleading guilty at St Alban’s Crown Court to eight offences:
- Engage in sexual communication with a child
- Cause / incite a girl 13 to 15 to engage in sexual activity - offender 18 or over – penetration
- Cause a child aged 13 to 15 to watch / look at an image of sexual activity - offender 18 or over
- Disclose / threaten to disclose private sexual photographs and films with intent to cause distress
- Make indecent images of children Category A (73 videos and 36 still images)
- Make indecent images of children Category B (25 videos and 71 still images).)
- Make indecent images of children Category C (six videos and nine still images).)
- Possess extreme pornographic image / images portraying an act of intercourse / oral sex with a dead / alive animal (30 videos and 21 still images)
He was also given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) – a means of restricting his behaviour - for ten years. SHPOs also appear on Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks to prevent people working with children and vulnerable people.
PC Shane O’Brien said:
“This case was truly horrific. The child abuse material Mitchell was found in possession of is the worst material I have had to review and grade in more than 15 years in policing.
“His abhorrent behaviour is both indefensible and incomprehensible. The only light in this awful case is the courage of the teenager who I applaud for reporting the incident to school staff.
“Not only was she brave, but she also set an example to all youngsters that speaking out to a responsible adult is the right course of action.
“Thankfully she had great support around her and was able to provide evidence to support the prosecution, leading to an early guilty plea.”
