Andrew Smith-Davies – Nottingham/Keswick

A man in possession of an ‘extremely concerning’ and depraved manual which contained advice about how to groom and sexually abuse children will be sentenced at the crown court next month.

Andrew Smith-Davies, 49, also made hundreds of indecent images of children, including images of children as young as five and six-years-old, Workington Magistrates’ Court was told.

Smith-Davies, who committed the offences in Keswick in January 2023, pleaded guilty to the following charges:

· Making 61 Category A indecent images of a child

· Making 63 Category B indecent images of a child

· Making 260 Category C indecent images of a child

· Possessing a paedophile manual

· Possessing a weapon for the discharge of a noxious liquid or gas or electrical incapacitation device

Pamela Fee, prosecuting, said the case was not suitable for sentence in the magistrates’ court and the offences ‘far outweighed’ magistrates’ sentencing powers.

The prosecutor said some of the images were of vulnerable children as young as five and six-years-old.

Ms Fee said the possession of a paedophile manual, which contained advice about abusing children sexually, was ‘extremely concerning’ behaviour.

An application for a Sexual Harm Prevention Order would be made at the crown court in due course, the court was told.

The case was sent to Carlisle Crown Court for sentence on February 2. Smith-Davies, formerly of Chestnut Hill, Keswick, and now living at Station Road, Nottingham, was granted bail with conditions.

He must not sleep or reside at an address where there is a child under the age of 18 present or have any unsupervised contact with a child under the age of 18.

Smith-Davies was ordered to register with the police as a sex offender within three days.