A “large amount” of images of young boys and men were found on the devices of a man accused of sexual abuse, a court heard. Ian Silvester, 60, is accused of 83 counts of sexual abuse against 19 boys and young men over a period of around 30 years across Sussex. Silvester, of Locks Hill in Portslade, held various positions working alongside young boys, including as a diving instructor at a swimming club, a scout leader, a babysitter, a volunteer for St John’s Ambulance and an independent first aid trainer.
Data, made up of pictures and videos of young boys and males often in speedos, for example wrestling or being tickled, was found on Ian Silvester’s devices by police amounting to 14 terabytes, prosecutor Lesley Bates told Lewes Crown Court. One image was found to be category A, one category B and 35 category C, jurors heard. Some were said to be captured by himself and others were believed to have been sourced from the internet.
Category A is the highest category with some of the worst examples of sexual abuse. READ MORE: 'Vulnerable' boys and young men were 'groomed' by first aid trainer, court hears The court heard that the images were split into folders and subfolders which, Ms Bates says, may have been “so he could easily find what he wanted to look at”. One video said to be shot by Silvester, over 10 minutes in length, was shown to the court.
It showed a boy between the ages of 11 and 12 with no top on, mowing the grass in what appeared to be a fenced garden..
