Norwegian national Ole Steinsland was found to have hundreds of images of child abuse on his device – he was sentenced to three years in prison and will be deported when he completes his sentence
A Norwegian primary school teacher who was reported missing in the country has been arrested in the UK after police made a sickening discovery when checking his phone.
Police detained Ole Steinsland at Manchester’s Piccadilly Station on July 11 after he was found in the company of a 16-year-old girl from Derbyshire who also was reported missing. When Steinsland was found to be a Norwegian national police quickly linked him to a missing persons report of the school teacher.
But when officers checked Steinsland’s phone, they made a harrowing discovery. On the device, police found hundreds of indecent images of children, including some who were as young as three.
He was sentenced on Thursday to three years in prison after admitting to taking indecent images of children, making indecent images of children, possession of extreme pornography and possession of prohibited images, The Manchester Evening News reported.
Steinsland was handed a lifelong sexual harm prevention order, given a restraining order preventing him from having any contact with the teen girl, he will also be deported when he is released from prison. Detective Constable Izabel Fowkes, who led the investigation, said: “Steinsland is clearly a very dangerous man and I have no doubt his appalling offending would have continued had he not been arrested.
“Examination of his phone following his arrest showed he was in contact with a number of children online – including in Chile – and I have no doubt he would have continued attempting to find victims to abuse.
“The fact that Steinsland is a primary school teacher, a position that holds such trust, also magnifies his crimes. I am pleased that he is now behind bars where many young children will be safe from his depravity.”
While it is not known exactly how many children in the UK experience sexual abuse, research suggests it is widespread. A study of 2,275 young people 11 to 17 about their experiences of sexual abuse suggests around one in 20 children in the UK, according to the NSPCC.
“Sexual abuse is usually hidden from view,” it said in February this year. “Adults in the child or young person’s life may not recognise the signs of sexual abuse and the child may be too young, too scared or too ashamed to tell anyone what is happening to them.”
