HOPE VALLEY: Teenager caught with child porn images

They included obscene videos and photographs of naked boys aged between 10 and 14, Derby Crown Court heard last month.

The 17-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, admitted eight charges of possessing indecent pictures. He had been committed for sentence when he appeared before magistrates in Chesterfield.

Judge Andrew Hamilton put him on the Sex Offenders’ Register for seven years. He imposed six months’ custody suspended for two years.

He told him: “It is in the public interest that you should be helped rather than punished. But if you refuse to abide by the help, I am afraid then prison it has to be.”

The teenager will spend two years on probation and must not have equipment which can delete details of internet sites.

Abigail Joyce, prosecuting, said the images were found on a computer and external hard drive.

Sarah Brown, mitigating, told the court: “When told how many he had actually downloaded, he was shocked. He is to some extent quite a vulnerable young man.”

Miss Brown added he became embroiled in this environment, perhaps not recognising the seriousness of his offending.