Couple from Wolverhampton admit conspiracy to take indecent child images

A man and woman from Wolverhampton have been sentenced for conspiring to take indecent images of children.

Investigators identified the home of Colin Dawson, 61, as being linked to online chats referring to child abuse.

Dawson, a convicted sex offender, was arrested and when his home was searched, officers seized mobile phones and a laptop.

They were analysed by digital forensic experts and revealed the laptop had an app for accessing the dark web. 

Indecent images, containing children aged between four and 13 years old, were also found on Dawson's laptop as well as his mobile phone.

Hundreds of messages were also found on devices between Dawson and Annette Punter, cataloguing their exchanges about young girls.

Punter, 65, and from East Park, claimed in a police interview that she had been manipulated by Dawson, with whom she was in a relationship at the time.

But she later pleaded guilty to the offences at a court hearing on 10 May, as did Dawson.

Dawson and Punter both admitted conspiring to take indecent images of children, between 9 and 19 November 2018.

Dawson also admitted making a total of 44 indecent images at various dates between 4 November 2018 and 7 July 2020.

Punter admitted taking and distributing indecent images of children between 2 and 5 November 2018, and possession of extreme pornography on 5 March 2021.

On Friday 9 February at Wolverhampton Crown Court, Dawson was jailed for two years and two months and will remain on the sex offenders' register for life. 

Punter was given a 20-month jail term, suspended for two years and she will remain on the sex offenders register for 10 years.

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