Bedbound ex-nurse calling himself 'who's the daddy' went down 'dark hole'
A bedbound former nurse was caught with disturbing images and movies of children being sexually abused. Kenneth Chell, 46, was once a respected NHS worker but he became 'actively involved' with a network of people after going down 'a dark hole'.
The 46-year-old also used Snapchat under the username ‘whosthedaddy78’. And he made deliberate searches for images using keywords between October 19 2022 to March 30 2023.
Police then discovered hundreds of photos. Prosecutor Emily Calman told Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court how the youngest victim was estimated to be between 12 months to 36 months of age.
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Chell, of Knightley in Madeley, pleading guilty to the possession and distribution of indecent images of children, as well as possession and distribution of indecent moving images of children, and two extreme pornographic images which included sexual acts with animals.
Stuart Muldoon, mitigating, said: “He was watching his life fall away due to illness, and he has immense severe trauma from his younger years, and he has tried to reach out to agencies who can assist him.
“He was in a position where his illness became so severe that he can’t leave the house due to safety issues and he has to wait for ramp equipment to be fitted at home. His mum is his full time carer. He is totally incontinent and bedbound, which he is embarrassed about as his mother has to care for him.
“Mr Chell accepts this is a serious offence and clearly passes the custody threshold. His offending goes back to March 2023 and there is no evidence he’s committed any offences since. He was an adult nurse dealing with adult patients until he became unable to work further. He shows genuine remorse and there is a realistic prospect of rehabilitation in this case.”
Judge Graeme Smith handed Chell a two-year prison sentence suspended for two years.
He told the defendant: "There is an epidemic of child pornography in our society and we’re regularly dealing with day in, day out, people committing offences in relation to child pornography.
“It’s clear you've had traumatic events in your own past, but notwithstanding you were able to work as nurse for a number of years and you provided a positive impact in society. It was only when your illness began you took a turn for the worst and you lost the relationship you had. You turned to online pornography to satisfy both your sexual needs and in relation to other people.
“It took you down a dark hole of child pornography, I regret not only in possession of indecent images but they were also distributed under unusual circumstances. Distributing child pornography is the most serious of charges which you face, aggravated by a number of factors, particularly the age of children involved, and in one circumstance involving a very small child.
“There were a number of different victims and you clearly made deliberate searches for the images. You are said to be low risk of conviction, a medium risk in relation to indecent images, and a medium risk of harm to children.
“You are, at present, housebound and bedbound. Although it’s possible to take you into custody, it would be a health decline and it would impose a significant burden on the prison service. It is not a good reason not to send you to prison, but this is a sentence I can suspend.”
Chell was also handed a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order and was placed on the Sex Offenders Register for 10 years. He was also ordered to pay a £250 fine, plus £150 in costs, and a £187 victim surcharge.