A self-confessed porn addict has avoided time behind bars after being found with more than 1,000 sex abuse images of children as young as two.
Pervert David Besag downloaded the sickening pictures and videos over an 18-year period between 2002 and 2020 but was finally snared when police searched his home after receiving intelligence regarding his sordid behaviour. A court heard that 50-year-old's lap top, mobile, a hard drive and computer tower were seized and the disgusting material was found all all four devices.
The paedophile, of Glenthorn Road, in Jesmond, has now avoided a stint in jail after he pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of a child, one of possessing a prohibited image of a child and one of possessing extreme porn. Instead, he was given a six-month prison sentence, suspended for two years.
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Omar Ahmad, prosecuting at Newcastle Crown Court, said police searched Besag's home on September 30 2020 after receiving intelligence that an IP address linked to his address had been uploading illegal images of kids. Mr Ahmad continued: "The defendant was cautioned and arrested and the address was searched.
"At the time, a Macbook was found switched on and logged in. Officers noted that, on the screen, was file names consistent with indecent images of children. That was seized, along with a mobile phone, hard drive and computer tower."
The court heard that, in total, 34 images and 23 videos of category A, the most serious kind, were uncovered, as well as 17 photos and 10 videos of category B and 1,031 pictures and 39 videos of category C. There was also four prohibited images of a child and 200 extreme porn videos and five extreme porn pictures on Besag's devices. The latter involved animals and adult males, Mr Ahmad said.
The court was told that the sick collection involved kids between the ages of two and 17 and depicted them in "considerable" distress.
Besag, who has no previous convictions, claimed he'd only been downloading the material since 2012 but had no sexual interest in children, although he was addicted to adult porn. The court heard he also suffered from post traumatic stress disorder and dyspraxia.
As well as the suspended sentence, Besag was made subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for seven years and must sign the Sex Offenders' Register for the same period.
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