‘Lord of Fraud’ caught with hundreds of indecent images of children

A conman dubbed the Lord of Fraud has been caught with hundreds of indecent images of children on his laptop and iPhone, investigators have said.

Hugh Rodley, 79, appeared at Cheltenham Magistrates’ Court and pleaded guilty to six counts of making indecent images of children and one of possessing indecent images of children.

National Crime Agency officers arrested him at his home in Ballandine Crescent, Stoke Orchard, near Cheltenham, in December last year for unrelated alleged offences.

Investigators found a Hewlett Packard laptop which contained 198 indecent images, including 19 at category A, 12 at category B and 167 at category C.

In addition, Rodley, whose aristocratic pretensions were based on a manorial title, had searched at least 806 times on his laptop for paedophilic content.

He was released on bail but officers arrested him again in January when he claimed he did not have a mobile phone.

Officers searched his property and found an iPhone which contained further indecent material.

Examination showed he used the phone almost immediately after being bailed to continue searching for further child sexual abuse content.

The phone contained 295 indecent images of children – five at category A, 13 category B images and 277 category C images.

Rodley, who will return to court for sentencing in November, was sentenced to eight years in jail in 2009 for trying to steal £229 million from a Japanese bank.

In 2012 he was given an additional seven years behind bars after being convicted of conning more than 700 pensioners out of £6 million.

In June 2016 he was sentenced to a further seven years in prison after failing to repay more than £1.2 million.

NCA senior investigating officer Andy Lawton said: “Protecting children from sexual abuse is a priority for the National Crime Agency.

“Rodley can now add helping fuel the sickening trade in child sexual abuse to his list of offences.

“Behind each of these images is a vulnerable child who has been exploited to gratify the depraved desires of paedophiles.”

If you are a child and you need help because something has happened to you, you can call Childline free of charge on 0800 1111. You can also call the NSPCC if you are an adult and you are worried about a child, on 0808 800 5000. The National Association for People Abused in Childhood (Napac) offers support for adults on 0808 801 0331.