November 2012 A STOURBRIDGE sicko who downloaded vile child abuse pictures blamed a “serious” alcohol problem for his perversion. David Brookes, aged 36, was found to have 160 images of young children including two at level four and one at level five – the worst categories, plus six indecent moving images of children at level two. Brookes admitted making the indecent images and, in his basis of plea, said he had a long standing drink problem and he had only downloaded the photographs because he was drunk. At Wolverhampton Crown Court, Howard Searle, prosecuting, said police with a warrant went to Brookes’ home in Kingsway and the indecent images were all recovered from the hard drive on his computer. Brookes, he went on, had installed cleaning equipment on his computer to delete images but the ones recovered by police had been recently downloaded.. He was given a three year community order with a condition he attends the Sex Offenders Treatment Programme and told to register as a sex offender for five years. Judge Michael Dudley further made him the subject of a ten year Sex Offenders Protection Order and ordered him to pay £200 towards the costs. He told Brookes: “Very young children have to be abused for images like these to be put onto the internet. My principle concern is the protection of the public.” But he ruled those interests would best be served for Brookes to receive treatment as he added: “Part of the order will also help you with your serious alcohol problem.”