A FATHER who admitted downloading more than 100 “disgusting” videos and images of child sex abuse has been spared jail.

Paul Herbert Simmons, 45, was living with his teenage daughter when a police raid uncovered the videos on a computer at his home in Derby Street, Nelson.

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He pleaded guilty to eight counts of making and possessing indecent images of children — including material involving a baby — in February and March last year.

Recorder Tania Griffiths QC, sitting at Burnley Crown Court, handed Simmons an eight-month prison sentence, suspended for two years. During an initial police interview, Simmons — who suffers from mental-health problems and alcoholism — denied accessing the material . The movies included 48 rated as being in the most obscene category A, 31 at category B and 27 classed as category C.

Stephen Parker, prosecuting, said: “The vast majority were recovered from an IBM ThinkPad. I would not want to read out the nature of these, but images featured victims as young as four through to children aged approximately 13. The majority were 12 or 13 years old. Several were younger than that.”

Simmons, who has no previous convictions, believed police would not discover the files because he had deleted them from the device, Mr Parker said. The court heard how Simmons told police in an interview: “Why do people make them? I know it is sickening but I do not put them up there. I do not keep them.”

Philip Holden, defending, said his client deserved a one-third reduction in sentencing because of his early guilty plea and previous good character.

He said: “His mental-health problems are not a means of justification or excuse, but we must bear in mind what is the most constructive proposal.

“To tackle his quite appalling alcoholism by way of treatment and to provide him with the supervision which is required would be a better way of protecting the public in years to come.”

Miss Griffiths, applying the one-third reduction on the suspended prison term, also ordered Simmonds to attend a 12-month alcohol treatment course and placed him under a supervision order for two years. He was also given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for ten years and must pay a £100 victim surcharge.

Miss Griffiths said: “Why you would want to find and view such images is worrying. The overwhelming likelihood is you will go to prison if you break your orders.”