May 2014 Leicester man who downloaded indecent images of children is jailed A man who accessed child abuse images on his home computer has been jailed for 12 months. Paul Vincent Ward (48) admitted six offences relating to downloading 28 indecent images of young boys, including babies. Ward was arrested at his home in Braunstone Lane, Leicester, and his computer was seized. Alan Murphy, prosecuting, said the illegal images were accessed between January 2010 and December 2012. The offences related to seven images in the least serious category at level one, nine images at level three and 12 images at level four. The most serious level is five. Mr Murphy told Leicester Crown Court: “There was evidence that, in the month before his arrest, he used a file sharing programme, which was then uninstalled on November 23.” He also had computer cleaning software on the computer’s hard drive, which Judge Philip Head said was capable of deleting all traceability of indecent material. There was also evidence that Ward had a Skype conversation with someone else discussing the topic of child abuse. Sentencing, Judge Head said: “These offences relate to indecent images representing a three-year period.” He said he had been shown “disgusting” images of a baby and a three-year-old being abused. Judge Head said: “Those children are victims. Without you providing an appetite for this material, there would be no point in producing it. “This isn’t a large amount of material compared with many defendants, but it was over a sustained period. I’m told you now accept full responsibility and have demonstrated frankness in the preparation of the pre-sentence report. “You’re also a carer for your vulnerable father. “Your barrister says it’s a stark choice of a non-custodial sentence so you can receive treatment to minimise the risk of future offending, or immediate custody. “The dreadfulness of these images can only be marked by immediate custody.” Carl Gaskell, mitigating, said Ward was willing to undergo a rehabilitation programme to reduce the risk of it happening again. Ward was placed on a sexual offences prevention order, so his future computer use can be monitored by the authorities, and will have to enlist on a sex offenders’ register for 10 years.