A man has been sentenced for downloading indecent images of children and possessing sexual images involving animals.

Ashton Coates, 31, first came to the attention of the online child abuse investigation team in December 2021 and a Skype account with the username AshtonCoates uploaded two indecent images of children.

These were two category A videos and four category B still images.

The incidents happened while Coates was in Burnley.

In March 2022, the same Skype account uploaded further images and intelligence received by the police said Coates accessed child sexual abuse material online on August 18 and September 10 of last year.

Prosecuting, Sarah Gruffydd said police attended Coates’ home address on October 24, 2022 and arrested him. They also searched his home where he refused to provide passwords and pin numbers for some of his devices and accounts.

A full search was conducted and two iPhones, two laptops, three USB sticks, and six hard drives were seized.

In interview, Coates said he had not used Skype for eight years and he had seen some illicit images 10 years ago, but only when he and his friends were “being stupid” and trying to find “the most awful things” to send to each other.

Across four of the seized devices, police found 97 category A images, 47 category B images, and 26 category C images. There were also 63 images of extreme pornography involving animals.

Police also found WhatsApp conversations where Coates discussed with a another about his sexual interests.

Mitigating for Coates, Philip Holden said: “Though there may have been some prevarication during the course of the interview, he, very soon after he was charged, entered guilty pleas at the lower court.

“He did not want to provide his work log-in details. He works for a number of organisations and some of that information was commercially sensitive without the accounts.

“What he tells me in relation to his personal accounts is he couldn’t remember the passwords.

“He was suffering from some degree of depression at the time. He was abusing alcohol and drugs. Something of an unhealthy lifestyle was being pursued by him. His arrest has been something of a wake-up call.”

Sentencing, Judge Daniel Prowse said: “In December 2021 police became aware of online activity suggesting interest of a sexual nature in children. Your online activities drew further police attention.

“The police were able to access certain aspects of your devices and discovered you had been involved for some years in the possession of indecent images of children.

“There were WhatsApp conversations between you and another and there was discussion about your sexual interest in children.

“All the category A, B, and C images are images of real children somewhere in the world being sexually abused.

“The downloading and viewing of these images is harmful in itself. It creates a market for those images.”

Judge Prowse sentenced Coates, now of Bretton Court, Bradford, West Yorkshire, to a three-year community order with up to 25 rehabilitation activity requirement days.

He will have to take part in a sexual offending programme and complete unpaid work, while he will also be subject to notification requirements for five years and a sexual harm prevention order for 10 years.

Judge Prowse added: “The reality of the situation is you are fortunate to be receiving this sentence. You know what will happen if you breach this order. You will come back before me and I will send you to prison.”