'Abhorrent' man jailed for child abuse photos
Durham ConstabularyA man who was found to have the most serious category of child abuse images and photos depicting bestiality has been jailed.
Joseph Thompson, 21, admitted possessing 307 indecent images and videos of children and six extreme pornographic images, discovered when officers seized his devices in September.
Det Con Rebecca Lockey described his behaviour as "abhorrent", adding that the young victims in the still and moving images now "have to live with the trauma they have suffered".
Thompson, from Shildon, was jailed for 18 months at Durham Crown Court on Thursday.
Officers were alerted to suspicious online activity taking place at a property in Spennymoor last year.
Police found 166 of category A images, 102 category B images, 39 category C images and six extreme pornographic images involving animals.
Alongside his jail sentence, Thompson was also handed an indefinite sexual harm prevention order and was placed on the sex offenders register for 10 years.
Det Lockey said: "Thompson's behaviour was abhorrent and demonstrates the very real dangers posed online by individuals who deliberately seek to groom and sexually exploit children."
