Westcliff: Online offender sentenced

Detectives dedicated to the protection of children online have ensured that an online offender has been sentenced.

Officers from our Police Online Investigation Team (POLIT) executed a warrant in Mendip Crescent, Westcliff, in July 2021, after receiving information that indecent videos of children had been uploaded online from the property.

As part of their investigation, officers arrested 32-year-old Austin Betts at the address.

Examination of his electronic devices uncovered more than 1700 indecent images and over 460 indecent videos depicting child and animal abuse.

He was charged with three counts of making indecent images of children, two counts of distributing indecent images of children and one count of possession of extreme pornography.

At Basildon Magistrates’ Court in May this year, the former teacher plead guilty to all six offences.

On Tuesday 12 July, he received a 20-month sentence, suspended for 18 months, at Basildon Crown Court. He has also been put on the Sex Offenders’ Register for 10 years and made subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for 10 years.

The orders in place ensure he will continue to be the subject of stringent checks by offender managers.

Communities are safer

Detective Constable Nicola Hadfield, from POLIT, said:

“There is no doubt that communities are safer as a result of our investigation and the orders imposed on Betts.

“I hope this serves as a warning to anyone that thinks they can hide behind their profiles online – we will find you and you will answer for your crimes.”

We're here to listen

If you’ve been affected or would like to report information to us, please get in touch. We’re here to listen and will treat all reports seriously.

You can report online or call us on 101.

If you would like to remain anonymous you can also call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

The Lucy Faithfull Foundation is also a UK-wide child protection charity focused solely on preventing child sexual abuse. The charity runs Stop it Now! – a child sexual abuse prevention campaign and helpline.

For more information on how Stop it Now! helps people address their online behaviour, please visit their website or call the confidential Stop it Now! Helpline on 0808 1000 900.