September 2016 Pervert was addicted to sex images of children A loner ‘addicted’ to sick images of children was caught with almost 3,000 pictures, a court heard. Warehouse worker Paul Allen, aged 48, downloaded still and moving indecent images over eight months. Some featured the sexual abuse of children as young as five, Plymouth Crown Court heard. But a judge suspended his prison sentence after hearing of his remorse and his own efforts to tackle his habit. Allen, of Jenkins Close, Plymstock, pleaded guilty to eight counts of possessing indecent images between September 2014 and May 2015. William Parkhill, for the Crown Prosecution Service, said police executed a search warrant at Allen’s home on May 15 last year. He added that police found indecent images on a USB stick and a computer, admitting that there was a backlog in the investigation of such devices. Mr Parkhill said 103 still and five category A movies were discovered; together with 110 stills and 13 movies in Category B and 2,640 Category, with 12 movies, in Category C. Category A is the most severe, showing children being sexually abused. He added that investigators found that Allen had used search terms to look for sick images and had found images on peer-to-peer software. Geoff Parlby, for Allen, said he had spent his own time and money attending a course run by a charity to tackle his internet sex offending. He added that he had lived an “isolated lifestyle”. Mr Parlby said Allen’s actions since arrest showed clear remorse. Recorder Dunkels handed Allen an eight-month prison sentence, but suspended it for two years. The defendant must work one-to-one with probation to tackle his offending and sign the Sex Offender Register for a decade. Allen must pay £200 towards prosecution costs and £100 victim surcharge.