A JUDGE says a message needs to go out to ‘wicked’ people who download images depicting child abuse that it is ‘not worth the gamble’.

Judge Roger Jarvis spoke out as he sentenced Kevin Cox, of Lower Townsend, Burton Bradstock, to 12 months in prison for 19 counts of possessing indecent images of children.

Dorchester Crown Court was told that the images involved were video clips featuring children as young as two years old.

Prosecutor Robert Pawson said on June 9 police officers visited the 38-year-old’s then address in St Swithins Road, Bridport, and seized various computers.

He said Cox told officers upon arrest: “You’re right, you will find the stuff on the external hard drive.”

Mr Pawson said police analysis of the computer revealed 996 video clips involving children and Cox was charged in relation to 100 of them.

Cox made full admissions in interview and pleaded guilty at the first opportunity.

Patricia Sheehan, in mitigation, said Cox had recently divorced and had been suffering from depression but simply could not explain why he had downloaded the videos.

She said: “All he could do was to say he had reached such a nadir in his emotional life that somehow this became a possibility for him.”

Ms Sheehan added that Cox, who had no previous convictions, had stopped downloading the images before he was caught and had been seeking professional help.

Judge Roger Jarvis told the defendant: “This case involves the wicked abuse of little children. It is behaviour of yours which is unthinking of the future of those children who are the objects in those images which gives you pleasure.”

He added that the courts had to do something in a bid to improve the lives of the poor children who were the victims of shocking abuse in the sorts of images involved in the case.

The judge said: “Somehow or other the demand to look at these images must be reduced because a number of these images are deeply disturbing.

“The way that the court can do this is to make the price of watching these images unattractive to future people liable to fall into the trap of watching them.

“The way to do that is to make it clear that if you choose to watch images like this you will go into custody, I hope in making that message clear people will think it’s not worth the gamble.”

* THE head of a children's charity has welcomed the sentence handed down to Cox and says it sends a ‘strong message’ that such behaviour is unacceptable.

Claude Knights, chief executive officer of Kidscape, said: “Cases involving the possession of indecent images of children are far too common.

“Not only does each image relate to a real crime scene, but such horrific material feeds the abhorrent needs of certain individuals in our society.

“A custodial sentence provides a strong message that right minded people are not prepared to accept such behaviour.

“Everything must be done to reduce the abuse of children and young people.”