A FORMER solider found with a ‘child-like’ prosthetic sex doll has been jailed for almost ten years for a string of sex offences.

The discovery was made when Richard Turner was arrested at his former home at Catterick Garrison as officers searched for evidence of child sex abuse images taken by the 47-year-old.

Teesside Crown Court heard how Turner had a vast collections of child abuse images stored on a number of computers and digital devices, as well as carrying out sexual assaults on three young girls while taking indecent photographs of them.

The court heard how Turner left the army after serving for 20 years after he suffered serious injuries when a Land Rover he was in was blown up by a roadside bomb during one of his tours of duty in Afghanistan.

Turner pleaded guilty to a total of ten charges including five of sexual assault on someone under 13, three charges of possessing indecent images of children and two charges of taking indecent photographs of the young girls.

Sentencing Turner, Judge Stephen Ashurst said the former solider was in possession of more than 100,000 child abuse images with 203 being of the most serious kind.

He added: "As well the images, the police found a rucksack containing children's underwear and a prosthetic child-like doll which had been used."

Turner, of Victoria Road, Hyde Park, Leeds, was sentenced to four and half years for the most serious sexual assault with an 18 month consecutive sentence for lesser charges. He was also given an 18 month consecutive sentence for photographing three victims and a further two year consecutive sentence for possession of the child abuse images. A total of nine and half years.

The judge put him on the sexual harm prevention register indefinitely.