A Calne father who downloaded child abuse images has narrowly avoided prison.
43-year-old Martin Tyrrell was caught with the vile content after police officers seized and later examined devices taken from his former home in Devizes in late 2022.
The raid came after the force received a tip-off about his perverted digital behaviour – with a report that an email address linked to the defendant was being used to access illicit material.
Eleven indecent images were discovered on one of his electronic devices and he was subsequently charged. In an interview, he lied to officers by claiming he wasn’t home when the files were downloaded.
But at Salisbury Magistrates’ Court in March, he admitted the offending. During that hearing, defence solicitor Matthew George said his client was referred to the mental health team after his arrest.
He was referred to Stop It Now, an organisation that helps people worried about their thoughts and behaviour relating to child sexual abuse, and he completed a programme with them.
Mr George said that Tyrrell, of Lambourn Court, has “learned a good deal about himself and his offending behaviour” and added that he is “now able to stop it himself”.
On 1 June, at the same court, he was handed a 26-week prison sentence suspended for two years. Tyrrell must also complete 200 hours of unpaid work and 40 rehabilitation activity days.
The magistrates also imposed a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) for seven years, which bans the man from using internet devices unless approved by the police, deleting web search history and using social media or chat rooms without asking the Public Protection Unit prior and providing them with his passwords.
