A Lambeth midwife has avoided prison after being caught with a large collection of child pornography – with some images of children as young as four.
Scott Butler, (DOB: 10/3/1982) who worked for the NHS at St George’s Hospital in Tooting, was sentenced to twelve months in prison on Monday, September 13, at Inner London Crown Court, suspended for eighteen months.
Butler, 39, who came into contact with children every day at his job, was found to have more than 400 indecent images of male and female children between the ages of four and thirteen.
He has previously pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent photographs of a child and two counts of possessing extreme pornographic images.
Butler was arrested on December 3 2020 at work at St George’s Hospital. His phone and laptop were seized from his home in Lambeth and found to contain around 360 indecent moving images of children and 77 still images.
Kate Shilton, from the Crown Prosecution Service, which brought the case against Butler, said: “Scott Butler was a registered NHS midwife who came into contact with young children every day in a London hospital. But unknown to anyone, he had a large collection of pornographic images of children as young as four years old.
“Butler was caught out after uploading images to a social networking website, which police were able to trace back to him. He was arrested while working. The prosecution case included evidence from a forensic analysis of Butler’s devices, which showed the extent of his interest in preadolescent children.
“Crimes against children are abhorrent and the CPS will always seek to bring to justice those who fuel the sexual exploitation of children.”
The CPS has applied for a sexual harm prevention order, which could prevent Butler from taking part in certain activities or work. The details of this will be set out at a further hearing.