A man caught with child and animal abuse images has been spared a jail term.
56-year-old Nicholas Hughes pleaded guilty to a string of sex offences committed while living in Seend, Wiltshire, between March 2014 and May 2022.
In total, he had 377 indecent images of children – including 250 in the most severe category.
The defendant, now of Trinity View in Newport, South Wales, also possessed 104 extreme pornographic images showing sexual activity with animals.
At Salisbury Crown Court on Friday (26 April), he was handed a 12 month prison sentence suspended for two years.
Hughes was also given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for 10 years.
DC Kerry Foster, of the Child Internet Exploitation Team said: “These cases are often difficult for those involved and I would like to thank those in the court, as well as Hughes’ family, for their patience and bravery of listening to his actions.
“These offences dated back a number of years and were discovered over a number of different devices.
“Wiltshire Police will always take incidents of sexual assault and other sexual offences incredibly seriously.
“We have a dedicated team for investigations into individuals using the internet to upload and download indecent images of children and associated exploitation of children.
“If you have information on child sexual exploitation, please report it to us via 101 or online.”
