A registered sex offender has been sentenced to 16 months in prison after being found with explicit images of children as young as three on his mobile device.

The 37-year-old individual from Elland, Calderdale, began downloading abusive imagery shortly after being removed from the sex offender registry.

He was taken into custody in January following information from the National Crime Agency indicating he was requesting inappropriate photographs of minors in explicit conversations through an online platform.

The defendant also maintained another account through which he sought explicit material involving a child from someone residing in South Africa.

When authorities examined his mobile phone, they discovered it contained forbidden and extreme material along with 27 illicit images of children classified in categories A, B, and C, with category A representing the most severe content.

The children depicted in the material were as young as three years old.

During questioning, he responded with “no comment” to all inquiries.

The prosecution stated at Bradford Crown Court that the defendant had four prior convictions encompassing 21 offenses, including the creation of indecent images of minors.

These included 14 attempts at sexual communication with children and a violation of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

The court was informed that he had previously been subject to the sex offender register and a Sexual Harm Prevention Order until October 8 of the previous year, with his current offenses occurring just over two months afterward, between December 28 and February 11 of this year.

In mitigation, it was explained that he had relocated from Nottingham to the Halifax area for safety reasons and to start anew.

However, he experienced depression after losing touch with his family and turned to alcohol, consuming up to a litre of vodka daily.

It was stated that his offenses occurred while intoxicated, though he expressed deep regret and acknowledged the severity of his actions and the harm caused.

He indicated acceptance of a new Sexual Harm Prevention Order with stricter conditions to prevent future offending.

The defense stated: “There is hope for this man.”

Sentencing the defendant, who appeared via video link from HMP Leeds, His Honour Judge Ahmed Nadim stated: “Child abuse images are not victimless. Each image represents the sexual abuse of a real child.

Those children experience pain, fear, and humiliation at the time the images are created, and suffer long-term damage to their emotional development.

By creating and accessing child abuse images you were creating and sustaining a demand in a marketplace that is fed by further abuse of children.

Every act of downloading and requesting or viewing such material reinforces that demand and increases the risk that further children will be abused, filmed, and exploited in order to meet the distorted sexual needs of men such as you.”

Judge Nadim imposed a new 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order and mandated that the defendant register as a sex offender for the same duration.

He ordered the forfeiture of the defendant’s mobile phone.