Gordon Hamilton denied gaining any sexual gratification from watching children as young as five being abused, claiming he accessed them after a discussion at a university seminar about the morality of such offending and watching a TV show.

When police executed a search warrant at his home in December 2019 after his IP address was linked to downloading indecent images, his devices were seized and searched.

They found 110 category A movies and one still image, 101 category B pictures and 18 movies and 4,103 category C pictures.

Newcastle Crown Court heard they had been created between 2016 and 2019 and the children in them were aged as young as five years old.

Internet search terms associated with seeking out such material had been made.

Prosecutor Michael Bunch said: “When interviewed he said he accessed them following a discussion at a university seminar regarding the morality of such offending and on TV programmes which minimised the impact of such offending

“He said he encountered further material in 2019 due to pop ups on his device, some of which he downloaded. He said he didn’t get any sexual gratification from them.”

Hamilton, 67, of Helmsley Road, Sandyford, Newcastle, pleaded guilty to three offences of making indecent images of children. He was sentenced to 12 months suspended for 18 months and must sign the sex offenders register and be subject to a sexual harm prevention order for ten years.

Judge Amanda Rippon told him: “You have made various excuses for these images and I don’t want you to think for a second I accept them. To suggest you have done it for research is abhorrent and I don’t believe it for a moment.

“It’s always men who say these sort of things and make excuses and say they don’t get sexual gratification from looking at these images. I know you say you have studied it but I’ve met and said hello to children who are the victims of these kind of offences and I’ve seen the damage, which never leaves them.

“Children who are old enough to understand what a camera is know they are being filmed and abused. Children understand these images will be looked at by men like you.

“Every single child you looked at, you sexually abused. They are your victims and they know they are your victims because they know these invisible men look at these films and photos.

“You are responsible for perpetuating offences of this nature. Don’t you think for one moment you don’t have victims. You do.