Whitburn grandad downloaded child porn after falling down an internet rabbit hole after Covid, court told

Retired Merchant Navy man Alan Smith, 73, used his Dell computer to go online to find the sickening photos, some of children aged just two.

In all, Smith was caught with 35 illegal images when police raided his home in Parry Drive, Whitburn, in April 2023.

He claimed he had intended to only seek out legal pornography after finding himself alone after the collapse of a 20-year relationship.

But he downloaded 14 child abuse images at the most serious category A level, 14 at category B and seven at category C, magistrates in South Tyneside were told.

Prosecutor Emily Hunt said Smith’s crime was aggravated by the age of the youngsters depicted, with the oldest estimated as being 15.

He faced up to three years behind bars after pleading guilty to three counts of making indecent photographs or pseudo-photos of a child.

However, he walked free from court after magistrates suspended his 18-week prison term for two years.

Ms Hunt said: “A police officer states that on April 5, 2023, she attended the defendant’s address.

“The officer saw a Dell computer tower and the hard drive was seized. There were indecent images of children.

“In interview, the defendant made no reply. He has no previous convictions. The category A images are one year to three years’ custody.

“This is aggravated by the age of the children depicted, who were between two and 15 years of age."

The court was told the offences were committed on April 4, 2023.

David Forrester, defending, told magistrates: “In this case, you are dealing with 35 images that were found. Twenty-one of them were not at category A.

“He’s a 73-year-old man who has been waiting two years for this case to be brought.

“He was in the Merchant Navy for 30 years, travelling the world. His 20-year relationship broke up at the beginning of Covid.

“He ended up in an internet rabbit hole. He says he was seeking out genuine pornography.

“He's in his early 70s, he’s retired, and he found himself on his own with a computer. It’s not a good combination. He has let everybody down.

“If you take the view that the images take it over the custodial sentence threshold, then it could be suspended.”

Magistrates told Smith his offences were “serious” and deserved a prison-level sentence.

As part of his punishment, he must complete 20 rehabilitation days and pay a £154 victim surcharge and £85 court costs.

He was also made subject to a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) and placed on the sex offender register, both for seven years.

The terms of the SHPO include an order he must inform police of any internet enabled device he possesses and not delete its history.

Smith must also tell them if he plans to use cloud storage and must provide his passwords on request.