An 86 year-old Yeovil man has admitted downloading tens of thousands of sexually graphic images involving children and animals.
Leonard Robinson, who used a zimmer frame as he entered and left the dock, pleaded guilty to three offences under section 1 of the Protection of Children Act 1978 (relating to the production of indecent images of children) and one offence under section 63 of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 (relating the possession of extreme pornography). All offences are said to have occurred between 1st January 2016 and 28th June 2018.
The maximum penalty for each offence under the 1978 Act is 10 years imprisonment. The maximum penalty for an offence under the 2008 Act is 3 years imprisonment. In the case of the 1978 Act, the term "production" includes the process of downloading or viewing indecent images of children via the internet.
Police obtained a warrant search Robinson's home after receiving intelligence that his IP address was being used to download child sex abuse movies. They seized computers and memory devices containing thousands of depraved images and videos of children and bestiality.
The bench at South Somerset Magistrates' Court heard that examination of Robinson's devices yielded 8,362 of the most serious "Category A" images, featuring children engaged in sexual penetration; 11,079 "Category B" images featuring children engaged in non-penetrative sexual activity; and 32,152 "Category C" other indecent images of children.
Officers also found 38 grossly offensive images depicting sexual acts with animals.
Prosecutor Suzie Butler told the bench: "Due to the number of images found and the time scale of the offences the defendant was referred to at the time as one of the biggest active downloaders of child abuse material in the UK."
Given the severity of the allegations Ms Butler invited Magistrates to decline jurisdiction and send the matter to the Crown Court for sentencing.
Sam Morton, defending Robinson, told the bench that the images were downloaded for his client's own use and not to be shared with anyone else.
Magistrates declined jurisdiction and ordered the Probation Service to complete a pre-sentence report. Robinson was granted unconditional bail to appear at Taunton Crown Court for sentencing on 18th January 2019.
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