A serving Sellafield police officer has appeared in court charged with possessing more than 18,000 indecent photographs of children.
Shaun Mandale, aged 45, faces six charges.
Three allege the making of indecent images of children — 7,886 classed in category A, the most serious; 2,597 in category B; and 7,651 category C.
A fourth charge alleges the possession of indecent photographs of youngsters — a total of 18,134, according to court papers. A fifth alleges the possession of 96 extreme pornographic images said to feature bestiality. And a six charge alleges possession of 52 prohibited images of children.
All charges span a period of time between February 2 2020, and July 1 last year.
Mandale, of Belvedere Street, Workington, appeared at Carlisle Crown Court today and was due to enter pleas to the six charges he faces.
However, he was not legally represented at the hearing. This was because the barrister instructed in his case was said to be involved in ongoing nationwide days of action by defence lawyers seeking improved pay and conditions.
As a result, Judge Ian Unsworth QC concluded it would not be appropriate for Mandale to enter pleas at this stage. “Through no fault of your own you are not represented by counsel today,” Judge Unsworth told the defendant.
Mandale’s case was adjourned to October 21. In the meantime, a background report was ordered for that hearing and Mandale was granted bail. One condition states that he must not have unsupervised contact with any child aged under 18.
A Civil Nuclear Constabulary spokesman said: “I can confirm Shaun Mandale, a serving CNC police officer, is appearing in court today charged with six counts relating to making and possessing indecent images of children.”
The Sellafield-based officer was arrested in February. The spokesman added: “As criminal proceedings remain ongoing it would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage.“
