A former GP and paediatrician caught with one of the largest collections of child sexual abuse images ever discovered by the National Crime Agency (NCA) has been jailed for just over two years.
David Shaw, a 48-year-old from Taunton, Somerset, was found to be in possession of more than 1.2 million indecent images of children, having used anonymisation techniques on a peer-to-peer network to try to hide his activities.
Shaw, who practised as a GP between 2005 and 2013, was arrested at his former home in Maidstone, Kent, in February 2019 after NCA officers managed to establish his identity.
When interviewed, Shaw admitted that he had been downloading the images since 2005, and had been expecting a visit from law enforcement at some point.
Forensic examination showed 16 of his electronic devices contained more than 1.2 million indecent images in categories A-C, with A being the most severe. When the categorisation was explained to him, Shaw told officers that all three would be found on his devices.
The categorisation of IIOC was explained to him and Shaw told officers that all three categories would all be found on his devices.
He described himself as a “criminal” and a “bad” person, and admitted to being sexually attracted to pre-pubescent girls, adding that he became depressed when he tried to cease viewing the pictures and stopped working as a GP at this point.
Shaw was charged with three counts of making and possessing indecent images of children and pleaded guilty at Maidstone Crown Court on 18 October.
He was sentenced at the same court on Wednesday to two years and two months in prison, and also handed a 10-year sexual harm prevention order.
When sentencing him, His Honour Judge Saxby KC remarked that, as a specialist in paediatrics, Shaw would have been more aware than others of the harm inflicted on the children in the images he downloaded.
“This is one of the largest collections of child sexual abuse images that the NCA has ever dealt with, the scale of which was shocking,” said the NCA’s senior investigator Tony Smith.
“Not only did Shaw abuse his position of trust, he helped fuel the sickening trade in child sexual abuse images by downloading this material, which re-victimises every child.
“Tragically, behind these images are vulnerable children being exploited just to satisfy paedophiles.
“The NCA continues to pursue offenders like Shaw, make them accountable for their actions and to protect victims of online child sexual abuse.”
