Sunderland man caught with over 1,000 child abuse images keeps his freedom

Police found the sickening collection, featuring children as young as three months old, on three of Alan Teal's computer devices, which were seized during a raid at his home in September 2019.

Newcastle Crown Court the 68-year-old had a total of 1,082 pictures and movies, across all three categories of seriousness.

Prosecutor Rachel Glover told the court the age range of the children featured was "from three months old to 12 years of age".

Teal, of Astral House, Sunderland, admitted three charges of making indecent images of children.

The court heard he has been in no trouble before or since the offences.

Miss Recorder Caroline Goodwin QC sentenced him to a community order for two years, with rehabilitation requirements.

Teal must sign the sex offenders register and abide by a sexual harm prevention order for five years.

The judge told him: "The fact you are not directly responsible for the physical abuse of those children does not exonerate you in any way.

"You are not absolved by reason of the distance between yourself and those images.

"The fact is this this sort of behaviour encourages those who take this abhorrent material to continue to do so."

Tony Cornberg, defending, said Teal has been assessed as a low risk of causing harm and "is not a danger to the public".

Mr Cornberg said Teal would come out from any prison sentence "simply older" and added: "Immediate custody would not deal with the underlying causes.

"There is work to be done."