A MIDDLE-AGED married man caught with hundreds of indecent images of children on his computer and mobile phone has avoided prison.

Sean Foley, 55, was given a suspended jail sentence and ordered to seek help after a judge heard an insight into his problem.

Foley, from Middlesbrough, had pictures and videos of child abuse on his phone and laptop when he was arrested earlier this year.

Prosecutor Harry Hadfield told Teesside Crown Court yesterday that the father-of-three also had images described as “extreme pornography”.

Some of the items showed children as young as eight, some involved animals and one depicted a victim with a skewer stuck in her body.

During two police interviews, Foley refused to answer questions, but later admitted four charges when he appeared court.

Judge Peter Armstrong told defence lawyer, Robert Mochrie: “He has some insight into his problem, but he needs, I think, help.”

The judge told Foley: “These sort of offences are not victimless crimes, and people like you who look at these images only encourage others who abuse children and take photographs of them and film them being abused in this appalling way.”

Foley, of Chervil, Coulby Newham, pleaded guilty to three charges of making indecent images of children, and one of possessing extreme pornography.

He was given a 12-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, and orders to go on an approved sex offender treatment programme, and carry out 35 days of a rehabilitation and activity course.

Judge Armstrong also put him on the sex offenders’ register for ten years, and imposed a Sexual Harm Prevention Order banning him from having unsupervised contact with under-18s, and placing restrictions on his computer use.

Mr Mochrie told the court that Foley’s 27-year marriage came to an end after his arrest, and has since been “removed” from the matrimonial home.

He said: “This is an all-too-sorry tale of a middle-aged man who has not troubled the courts before now, and because of this offending, not only is he to be sentenced, but he has suffered massively from what he chose to do.

“He is really trying to figure out where he goes from this point in life, and is struggling on a day-to-day basis.”