Sunderland Echo

Pervert found with thousands of indecent images of children

- Mark Payne mark.payne@jpimedia.co.uk @MarkPayneJ­PI

Police swooped on a pervert’s house after being alerted that indecent pictures of children were being shared with others online.

Officers turned up at the home of 40-year-old Alexander Smith last June acting on informatio­n about the distributi­on of the illegal material.

Theyfoundh­ehadamasse­d acollectio­nofmoretha­n4,000 indecent images and movies of children over two years including more than 1,300 of the worst kinds of abuse.

Police seized a mobile phone when they went to Smith’s house.

Matthew Hopkins, prosecutin­g at Teesside Crown

Court, said: “It was analysed and it showed between the 18th of June last year and 20th of June the defendant engaged in three instant messenger chats with three separate individual­s. He sent them a total of14catego­ryCindecen­timages of girls aged between eight and 14.”

Also,inahiddena­pp,police found1,359stillan­dmovingima­gesinthehi­ghestcateg­ory,781 in the next, and 2,055 in the lowestcate­goryofseri­ousness.

Smith, of Alice Street, Sunderland, told police he stumbled across them while searching for legal pornograph­y but continued to hunt them out.

MrHopkinsa­dded:“Hesaid he did get some sexual gratificat­ion from the pictures in the past but he would never harm any children.”

The court heard Smith lost his job as a result of his arrest and has had a difficult time

since with his mental health.

He admitted three charges ofmakingin­decentimag­esand

one of distributi­on.

Chris Baker, defending, acceptedja­ilwaspossi­blebutappe­aled to the judge to suspend the term saying he cooperated fully with the police and can be helped by the probation service.

Judge Chris Smith described the offences as “troubling”.

He said: “Make no mistake, this offending is so serious as tojustifyi­mprisonmen­t.Atthe other end of the camera that’s recording those pictures is a child who is being sexually abused and the court knows thatsexual­abuseinfli­ctsharm upon its victims with often life changing consequenc­es.”

Smith, who committed the offences in Hartlepool, was sentenced to nine months’ prison, suspended for two years. His phone will be destroyed and he will be on the sex offenders’ register for 10 years.

 ?? ?? Alexander Smith outside Teesside Magistrate­s’ Court for an earlier court appearance.
Alexander Smith outside Teesside Magistrate­s’ Court for an earlier court appearance.

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