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Former Conservative Party campaign manager get suspended sentence over child abuse image

A former Conservative Party campaign manager has been handed a suspended jail sentence over a string of child sex abuse images.

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Mark Lerigo. Photo: National Crime Agency

Mark Lerigo, aged 49, was found to have more than 1,800 images – including child sex images and extreme pornography – after an investigation by the National Crime Agency (NCA).

Lerigo pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children, two counts of distributing indecent images of children and one count of possessing prohibited images of children at Warwick Crown Court.

He also pleaded guilty to one count of publishing an obscene article and one count of possessing extreme pornography.

Lerigo was found to have a total of 1,869 illegal images on a mobile phone, iPad and a laptop discovered by the NCA after his arrest in November 2018.

A total of 205 images were "category A" abuse pictures – the most serious – along with 672 images of extreme pornography, 261 category B images and 299 category C images, along with 59 prohibited images of children.

A chat message was also discovered which showed Lerigo having conversations about child sex offences. He also watched online streaming sessions showing images of child sex abuse.

Destruction

Lerigo, of William Bristow Road in Coventry. was a campaign manager for the Tories at the 2017 General Election and for the Britain Stronger In Europe group during the EU referendum.

Until recently he had been working as a press officer for the Conservatives in the West Midlands. The party says he was suspended as soon as the allegations came to light.

Lerigo was handed a two-year sentence, suspended for two years, along with the forfeiture and destruction of his devices and ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work and pay £670 court costs. He will be registered as a sex offender for 10 years – with a 10-year sexual harm prevention order and a four-month curfew.

Andrew Crump, of the Crown Prosecution Service said: "Mark Lerigo actively sought out indecent images of children using specific search phrases and he engaged in criminal activities with others by possessing and distributing such images. He was arrested when he was linked to another case being investigated by the National Crime Agency.

"Those who commit these types of offences pose a serious threat to children. He has received a criminal conviction and will now be registered as a sex offender for 10 years with a 10-year sexual harm prevention order and a four months curfew between 8pm and 6am."

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