Man caught downloading images of child abuse in police raid

POLICE found a Swansea man in the middle of downloading indecent videos of young children when they went to his house, a court has heard.

Officers raided Baker’s home on February 22 following intelligence received that a computer at the address was accessing peer-to-peer file sharing networks.

Swansea Crown Court heard that when police seized the 57-year-old’s laptop, they found it was in the process of downloading indecent material. In total officers uncovered more than two-hours of child abuse videos.

Janet Gedrych, prosecuting, said some of the children in the photos and videos were aged between four and six. There was also evidence from the computer’s internet history that Baker had actively sought material featuring pre-teenage girls.

Baker, of Heol Calfin, Ravenhill, Swansea, had previously pleaded guilty to possessing Category A indecent images – the most extreme kind – and Category C images, as well as extreme pornography, when he appeared in the dock for sentencing.

The court heard he has no pervious convictions.

John Tarrant, for Baker, said that after his client lost his job he began to live an isolated life which was the “background for the darker thoughts to breed”.

Judge Geraint Walters told the defendant: “These are real children – just like ones who live next door to you, young children like you yourself once had. These are somebody’s children being abused in life-changing ways.”

For possession of the Category A images Baker was sentenced to nine months in prison, for the Category C images to one month, and for the extreme pornography to six months all to run concurrently – at the same time – and all suspended for two years.

He will also have to complete a rehabilitation course, and will be made the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and will be placed on the sex offenders register.