Paedophile caught with sick images after trying to pawn his phone is jailed

23-YEAR-OLD STILL DENIES HE’S DONE ANYTHING WRONG

A PAEDOPHILE who was previously convicted for sexually assaulting a young girl has been jailed for possessing indecent images of children.

Jason Hoodlass, 23, was caught out when he tried to pawn his mobile phone at Cash Converters in King Edward Street, Hull city centre, for a £20 loan, on May 16, 2017.

A horrified member of staff called police after discovering the images, which included a picture involving a three-year-old child and another image of a person having sex with a dog.

When interviewed by police, Hoodlass claimed he had just bought the phone from a man called “John” on Gumtree and took it straight to the shop to trade in.

He continued to deny the allegations, but a Hull Crown Court jury found him guilty of three offences of possessing indecent photographs of children, and one of possessing an extreme pornographic image – a person having sex with an animal – on April 3.

He returned to the dock on Friday, May 10, to be sentenced for the offences he still claims had “nothing to do with him”.

Judge Bury said: “You pleaded the phone was not yours and you had just paid for it for a small amount of money and that you were hoping to make a quick profit. Your account was bogus.

“Your pre-sentence report shows you continue to deny this offence. This is the second time you fall to be sentenced and you are only 23.”

In total, police found one category A image, five category B images and 42 category C images, on his Alcatel phone as well as one image of extreme pornography.

Prosecuting barrister Tim Savage also revealed that at the age of 16 Hoodlass was convicted for making indecent photographs of children. A laptop he was using contained 430 category A images which featured girls aged between three and 14.

On April 22, 2016, Hoodlass was found guilty after trial of sexually assaulting a girl under 13, and was sent to a young offender institution for two years.

He was released on licence for that offence on April 21, 2017, one month before trying to pawn his phone at the Cash Converters store.

Judge Bury said: “You are 23 now. Still a young age, but you have some worrying previous convictions.

“There are aggravating factors. The fact that you attempted to conceal your offending by the Hide My Pics app and also of a VPN designed to prevent remote monitoring of your device.

“Of course there is the significant factor of previous offences and accordingly it seems to me that the sentence has to be elevated.”

Hoodlass was sentenced to two years in prison. He will also be subject to a sexual harm prevention order for the next ten years. Jason Hoodlass