A HUNDLETON man downloaded images that included photographs of babies being sexually abused, a judge heard on Friday (Jan 3).
Paul Hawthorn, aged 51, was told his desire for “awful and disgusting” pictures helped to encourage the very abuse he was viewing.
“They are not actors. They are real children being abused with life changing consequences,” said Judge Geraint Walters.
Swansea Crown Court heard how police raided Hawthorne’s home in Guilderoy Road just before Christmas, 2018, and took away computer equipment.
Experts were able to trace 13 images in the most serious category A, nine in B and 487 in category C.
They also discovered that Hawthorn had used search engine terms aimed at finding the material.
Hawthorn admitted three offences of making indecent images of children between 2010 and 2018.
The court heard that his arrest had cost the engineer his 23-year relationship.
Hawthorn was jailed for eight months, suspended for two years. He must also complete 30 days of a rehabilitation activity as part of a course designed for child sex offenders.
He must also register with the police as a sex offender for 10 years and will be the subject of a sexual harm prevention order for 10 years, which will restrict his access to young people and to the internet.
Judge Walters told Hawthorn: “Everytime you access this sort of material you create a market for it. These children will be scarred for life.”
