McDonald's worker, 23, admits child porn charges

10:09pm Tuesday 15th April 2008

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By David Watkinson »

A 23-year-old fast food worker from Baxenden has admitted child porn charges after more than 110 indecent photographs and videos were found on his computer.

Lee Robert-Shaw, of Tewkesbury Close, Baxenden, who worked at McDonald's, Rising Bridge, at the time of the offences, pleaded guilty to 28 charges of making an indecent image of a child when he appeared at Burnley Crown Court.

Police said a proportion of the images and videos were of the most serious "level five" category.

Robert-Shaw had been due to stand trial for the offences, as well as charges of distributing the images, but pleaded guilty just as the hearing was about to get underway.

He will now be sentenced for making indecent images in June but will not be prosecuted for distribution allegations.

Robert-Shaw worked at McDonald's in Rising Bridge as well as behind the bar in the Calder pub in Blackburn Road, Accrington, the court was told.

He was arrested in July 2006 after a computer was seized by police at the family home in Baxenden.

Hugh McKee, prosecuting, said Robert-Shaw denied the offences until the very last moment.

He said that his father David Robert-Shaw was at first arrested in connection with the child porn images but was almost immediately released without charge.

Some 104 indecent images of children were found on the computer along with seven video clips, the court was told.

Robert-Shaw has been placed on the sex offenders register while he awaits sentence.

After the case, DC Simon Challenger said that the images and videos found on Robert-Shaw's computer were of all levels of seriousness.

He said: "The materials found were across the board, from level one all the way up to level five - which are the gravest and most serious type."

Nobody from McDonald's was available to comment or to say whether he was still employed by the company.