Sex offender with stash of indecent images Googled ‘what happens to paedophiles in prison’
A dad who had a stash of indecent images has been spared jail.
Ian David Thomas, of Ffordd Lligwy in Moelfre, appeared at Mold Crown Court on Tuesday faced with three charges of making indecent photographs of a child as well as one charge of possessing extreme pornographic images.
The 43-year-old was first arrested on January 19, 2021, the court heard from prosecutor Owen Edwards. He said this came after police raided the Anglesey home where he stayed with his father and uncle.
Officers found a desktop computer in his bedroom that, when examined, revealed he had started building up the indecent stash roughly six years ago in December 2014. Thomas had a total of 41 indecent images of children as well as 18 movies.
One of these films lasted around two hours, the court was told. For the extreme images – Thomas had a single still photo along with 16 movie clips.
One of these included a woman performing a sexual act with a dog. The court heard how Thomas also carried out a number of web searches including attempts to find out “what happens to paedophiles in prison”.
He would search the internet using phrases such as “barely legal” and “Romanian girls” amongst others, a short investigation also revealed.
Thomas was interviewed twice in early 2021 where he denied all knowledge about the images and how they ended up on his computer.
His confession only came earlier this year on the day he was due to face a trial in the crown court, said the prosecutor.
Judge Niclas Parry acknowledged that people like Thomas were the reason that “all over the world, children are being abused sexually”.
However, he felt able to suspend the dad-of-one’s six-month jail term for the next two years. He said: “I can tell you now that if you hadn’t admitted to this, this court would have had no alternative but to send you into immediate custody.
“But that admission of guilt has been fortified by what you went on to tell the probation officers.” Judge Parry said that, by accepting his sexual attraction to children, he felt that the 43-year-old could work long-term with the probation service to amend his ways within the local community.
Thomas must complete a 30-day rehabilitation programme alongside 100 hours of unpaid work. A sexual harm prevention order monitoring his internet usage was also imposed for the next seven years.
The judge also ordered that the computer that was taken away by the police be destroyed
