A CONVICTED child rapist has been locked up for downloading paedophile pornography on his computer.

John Charlton, 53, was jailed for a year and ordered to go on the sex offenders' register for ten years after he admitted making indecent images of children at his home.

Father-of-four Charlton, who served six years for rape and indecency more than 25 years ago, was told by a judge: "It seems to me that custody is inevitable, despite your pleas and your circumstances."

A court heard yesterday how computer equipment was seized when Charlton's home in Wollerton Road, Billingham, Teesside, was raided by police in July 2003.

Experts retrieved 59 stills and 17 movie files from the machine's hard drive, even though some effort had been made to erase them.

Shaun Dodds, prosecuting, told Teesside Crown Court that when Charlton was questioned, he said he installed a programme on the computer in 2003 to rid it of the images.

Nigel Soppitt, in mitigation, said Charlton had not offended since he was released from prison in the early 1980s, but that "curiosity got the better of him" and he began to look at child pornography on the Internet.

Mr Soppitt said his client realised that what he was doing was wrong and tried to get rid of the pictures and video clips he had downloaded.

Charlton admitted 17 specimen charges of making indecent photographs and a charge relating to 60 images, when he appeared in court last month.

He returned to be sentenced yesterday.

Judge Tony Briggs heard how he was jailed in December 1998 for an attack on three girls aged ten and 11 in park woods.

Armed with a knife, he threatened the girls to perform sex acts on him and then raped one of them, said Mr Dodds.

Mr Soppitt urged Judge Briggs to spare Charlton jail, saying: "He has had, for over two decades, been of positive good character, worked throughout that time and brought up a family with his wife.

"A sentence of imprisonment will have profound repercussions on him, but he has significant difficulty with the repercussions it will have on his family."

Charlton's wife and two daughters were in court for support.

Judge Briggs said some of the images, 20 of which were classed in the worst two levels, were "truly horrific material" and included video clips of youngsters being tied up and subjected to repeated sexual assaults.

The judge ordered Charlton to spend four years on extended licence after he is released, and ruled he should never work with children.