Police investigators had to use specialist software to access hundreds of indecent images of children stored on seized electrical devices.

Durham Crown Court heard that perpetrator David Hughes had used encrypted messaging to access the images from the internet.

Acting on intelligence received that indecent images were uploaded to devices linked to Hughes’ IP address, officers attended his home in Chilton, County Durham, and informed him he was being arrested on suspicion of possessing indecent images of children, in June last year.

Jess Butterell, prosecuting, said two tablet devices and a mobile phone were seized.

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Checks revealed two of them contained the offending material, but only after the examiners employed specialist forensic software, which revealed the use of encryption by Hughes to cover his illicit internet activity.

The court heard a total of 563 indecent images were discovered, 97 in the most serious category, one of them being in video form, featuring children as young as four being abused.

Miss Butterell said the images were accessed between September 2019 and June 2020, and, having been viewed, were deleted, but were retrieved by investigators from the device’s cache system.

Although the 31-year-old defendant, of Coronation Road, Chilton, made no comment when interviewed on the day of his arrest, he went on to admit three counts relating to possession of indecent images, across each of the thee categories for such material, when he appeared before magistrates, in November.

The case was sent for sentence to the crown court and a probation report was ordered to be prepared prior to the sentencing hearing.

Nicholas Askins, for the defendant, told the hearing that the defendant has no similar convictions.

Judge James Adkin told Mr Askins he was satisfied the defendant would conform with the terms of a community sentence.

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“There are quite a lot of images involved and the children are quite young on some of them.

“They are repellent images and videos of young children being subject to sexual abuse by adults.”

Addressing Hughes, Judge Adkin told him: “It seems to me, though, that you fall into the category of offenders who might not need to go into immediate imprisonment.

“Although you present some risk to the public, it’s modest and I’m satisfied you will comply with the community-based element of the sentence.”

Read next:

               County Durham man spared jail over indecent images of children

               County Durham man jailed for sharing indecent images of children

               County Durham man had more than 1,200 indecent images of children

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The judge imposed an eight-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, during which Hughes must attend a programme to address his sexual interest in children and take part in 30 probation-led rehabilitation activity days.

He must also conform with a drug rehabilitation requirement for nine months to steer him away from the use of cocaine, said to be a “disinhibiting feature” in his offending.

The defendant will be subject to an electronically-monitored, 7pm to 7am, home curfew for five months, and the terms of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and sex offender registration, both for ten years.