Sex offender used dark web to collect 110,000 indecent child images on 76 devices

A sex offender who had over 110,000 indecent images of children on 76 devices has been spared jail.

Daniel Greaves was arrested at his home in Patrington, East Riding of Yorkshire, where he’d used the dark web to amass the huge collection over nine years on phones, computers, hard drives and servers.

The 35-year-old ‘went out of his way to download thousand of indecent images… for his own perverse gratification’, police said.

Detectives found more than 100,000 indecent images on just seven devices alone.

Greaves was arrested at his home in March 2024 following a tip-off to police about his collection.

Teams from Humberside Police’s Digital Forensics had to prioritise some devices over others during their search due to the sheer volume of images they uncovered.

His eventual collection of more than 114,000 indecent images was said to be the largest ever seen for a case of its kind at Hull Crown Court.

Greaves was sentenced on September 29 after pleading guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children

He was made to sign the Sex Offenders’ Register for 10 years, was handed a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order, given a two-year suspended jail term, and ordered to complete 200 hours’ unpaid work and 20 days rehabilitation.

PC Sophie Newbon from Humberside Police’s Online Investigation Team said: "The sheer volume of images and videos that Greaves had collected of young children using the dark web in an attempt to get away with his disgusting behaviour, was absolutely appalling.

“Greaves went out of his way to scour the internet and download thousands of indecent images from across the web all for his own perverse gratification.

"Investigations of this nature are extremely complex, and I commend the POLIT and DFU officers for their patience and determination in developing the most comprehensive digital strategy to put a stark amount of evidence before the courts, leading Greaves to decide to plead guilty. The extremities the team were exposed to whilst reviewing them all cannot be underestimated.”

We take all reports of any sexual offences extremely seriously, and we will continue to seek justice for those who think it is acceptable to behave in this way.”