A Swansea cleaner was sentenced at Swansea Crown Court after being found with more than 1,800 indecent images of children, which the court heard he had made "determined efforts" to find.
Richard Lye, 50, of Llys-y-Bryn, Birchgrove, Swansea, pleaded guilty to three counts of possessing indecent images of children, possessing an extreme pornographic image and possessing prohibited images of children.
Police investigation and forensic findings
Police initially attended Lye's home and workplace on Wednesday, March 12, last year, after officers found his email address and IP address linked with indecent images of children. He was eventually found at his partner's address.
Prosecutor Dean Pulling told the court Lye claimed he had opened what he thought was AI material and that only when he saw its contents he realised what it was. Lye also claimed he had deleted the material.
Police seized a number of devices belonging to Lye, and forensic examinations found web searches which showed he had made "determined efforts" to locate and download images.
Scale of the material
A total of 1,815 indecent images were found on his devices: 407 from category A, the most serious, 110 from category B, and 1,281 from category C. A further 16 prohibited computer generated images were discovered along with a bestiality image. Some images had been discovered in a 'recently opened' folder.
The court heard Lye lost his employment as a cleaner, having been asked to resign immediately when the matter came to light.
Sentence
Judge Huw Rees, sentencing Lye, said: "Society simply won't put up with people who put young people at increased risk."
Lye was sentenced to 16 months in prison, suspended for 18 months. He has also been made subject of a sexual harm prevention order for ten years.
