A man has been given a community order after he admitted making indecent images of children.
Edward Wetherill, 47, of Farrar Avenue, Mirfield, was arrested after a raid on his home.
Heather Gilmore, prosecuting, told Leeds Crown Court police executed a search warrant last December following information that an IP address was being used to download images.
An HP laptop was seized and in a folder seven indecent images or videos were found. Miss Gilmore said two were category C videos, the lowest in seriousness, one video at Category B. The four others had not been categorised.
When he was interviewed Wetherill admitted deliberately downloading adult pornography but denied looking for child images. He said he would download in bulk and if he found any inappropriate material he would always delete it immediately.
Daniel Smith, for Wetherill, said the case involved a very small number of images of low level categories and in view of the history the Probation Service did not consider him at risk of re-offending.
Wetherill admitted making indecent photographs in the folder concerned and was given a 12 month community order with 100 hours unpaid work and was ordered to pay £700 costs.
Judge Geoffrey Marson QC said there was no evidence before him that any of the images or videos fell into Category A the most serious as had previously been alleged, but they fell into Category B and C.
However, he told Wetherill: “You will appreciate the children in these images are subjected to terrible degredation.
“Yours is a very unusual case. There is no indication you have a sexual attraction to children, something I am almost never prepared to accept but in your case there is real justification for saying that from what I read in the pre-sentence report.
“I think the risk of re-offending is very low indeed and I do not regard you as being a danger to children so the offence does not cross the custody threshold.”
