A Swindon couple have avoided a prison sentence for possessing child abuse images.
Harley Drew and Mitchell Thomas, both of Burnet Close, Haydon Wick, appeared at Swindon Magistrates Court today (Wednesday).
The pair pleaded guilty to having a stash of indecent images of children after police seized their devices and forensically examined them.
31-year-old Drew had 323 abhorrent files, of which 156 were categorised as A – featuring the most serious sexual abuse.
He was handed an eight-month prison sentence suspended for 18 months.
25-year-old Thomas had 26 abuse images, with 12 labelled Category A. He also pleaded to a charge of having 46 prohibited images of a child.
He was given a six-month prison sentence suspended for 18 months.
Both men were ordered to complete rehabilitation activity days and carry out 100 hours of unpaid work in the community.
They were also told to register as sex offenders for seven years, and a seven-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) was also imposed.
As part of the terms of the SHPO, Drew and Thomas must allow police to check their digital devices and are banned from having unsupervised contact with children.
