As we’ve noted several times, some criminals are wicked good at stashing things up the old dump hatch. It’s a handy skill I suppose, but one you should probably make sure you’re good at before you take your thumb drive full of child pornography on a walk around town as you engage in less than legal activities. If you don’t want to take my word for it, just ask Eliott Diffley.
On October 26 last year, a police officer was walking along Parkhurst Road, in Holloway, when he smelt cannabis.
Diffley was smoking, and threw something away as the officer approached.
The officer, Pc Adam Crossnan, searched him and found two mobile phones – one of which was reported lost or stolen – and arrested him for handling stolen goods.
When he was searched again at Islington Police Station, a USB data stick dropped from his buttocks.
Diffley said he had stolen it from an internet cafe and was further arrested for theft.
Officers looked on the data stick and found indecent images of children.
A search of Diffley’s home then turned up a large quantity of similar images of children.
The following investigation found the data stick had not been stolen, while an internet search history showed he had actively been looking for images of children.
Diffley didn’t do everything wrong, however. He was smart enough to plead guilty to 17 counts of possessing indecent images of children and one count of possessing an extreme porn image. He was ordered to register as a sex offender and spend the next year in jail, where perhaps he’ll get the training he was lacking and then some.