A CONVICTED sex offender who had nearly 2,000 images and videos on his laptop portraying sexual activity with animals has been made subject of a community order.

Judge Beverley Lunt said it was not in the public interest for her to jail 46-year-old Ian Edward Simpson as her sentencing powers were not strong enough and would not allow him to receive treatment for his issues.

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Burnley Crown Court heard that Simpson had been convicted of possessing indecent images of children in 2008.

As a result of that conviction he was placed on the Sex Offender's Register for 10 years and made subject of visits from the police's sex offender's management team.

Prosecuting Stephen Parker said in December 2015 officers visited Simpson's longboat which was moored in his current address of Barden Lane marina in Burnley.

Mr Parker said: "They were looking for the longboat he said he was living in. They rang him. He said he was at his mother's address.

"They found the boat and the defendant was inside and not at his mother's as he had suggested.

"The officers found various electronic devices, including the laptop on which the images were found on.

"The defendant said they would not find any images of children on there and that he had been watching adult pornography that morning."

Simpson told police that he had struggled since the breakdown of his marriage and he had used dogging websites to meet up with other people for consensual sex.

He claimed he had visited other websites which had redirected him to other sites.

When police searched the laptop there were 1,874 extreme images, including 36 videos, although the vast majority had been deleted.

Police also found internet searches relating to extreme images and there was also evidence that cleaning software had been used.

Defending Neil Howard said: "Sone of the images go back some time. There is a relatively large number of images. That being said only 26 of the videos were still live. All of the previous images had been deleted.

"He has expressed deep shame and remorse throughout the proceedings."

Sentencing Simpson to a three-year community order, Judge Lunt, said: "The sort of sentences I can impose are far too low for this level of offending.

"Then you will be released quickly and nobody would have worked with you.

"The way to protect the public is by ordering you to work with the probation service."

Simpson, who pleaded guilty to possessing extreme pornographic images, was also made subject of a five-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order and told to sign the Sex Offender's Register for 10 years.