A paedophile who accessed and downloaded 'sick' and 'abhorrent' images of children has avoided jail after he was handed a suspended prison sentence in court. 

Anthony Insall, 49, from Yarm, was handed a ten-month sentence suspended for 18 months at court on Tuesday (November 14) after pleading guilty to making indecent images of children, both Category A images and Category C.

Insall, who has a previous caution, will also spend ten years on the sex offender register and has been issued with a sexual harm prevention order for ten years.

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Investigating Officer, Detective Constable Barnes from the Paedophile Online Investigation Team said: “Anthony Insall searched for indecent images and content on the internet. He was found to have accessed the child abuse material over, at least, a 15-month period.

“The behaviour committed by Insall, and those who commit crime of a similar nature, is entirely abhorrent and causes significant harm to vulnerable children.

“Whilst this is an online offence, there are real victims out there living with the scars of abuse in this cycle of suffering. People who commit crimes of this nature are not invisible and we will ensure we do everything possible to bring them to justice.”