A “SAD and lonely old man” has been jailed for more than two years for possessing thousands of indecent images of children.

Ross McNaughton, of Kings Road, South Ham, pleaded guilty on March 29 at Wiltshire Magistrates’ Court of three counts of possessing indecent images, as well as breaching a sexual harm prevention order put in place in 2016.

He appeared at Winchester Crown Court on Wednesday, July 30 where he was sentenced to 30 months in prison.

SEE ALSO: Man, 53, who downloaded thousands of indecent images of children to be sentenced later this month

The court heard how police attended McNaughton’s home on Saturday, December 4 last year after his IP address was flagged. They seized a number of items including a tablet, computer, laptops and a camera.

The 54-year-old was arrested at the scene and the court heard how he was “dishonest” and tried to “put police off” by first handing them a device that did not contain the images.

Another Windows tablet hidden between photo frames was later found, which had 23,003 indecent images including 18 movies on it.

Of those there were 608 Class A indecent still images and movies, as well as nearly 1,000 of Class B and 21,000 of Class C.

Prosecting, Caroline Moonan said: “The images found ranged from babies to preteenagers. The children are particularly young between the three to six years bracket and some looking as young as two."

The court heard how McNaughton would go to the library to use the internet but when Covid hit he become lonely and purchased the tablet to access the internet during lockdown, knowing his sexual harm prevention order was in place to prevent him from doing so.

He had several previous convictions for the same type of offence, dating from 1996. This included two prison sentences, with his most recent release being in 2018.

READ MORE: Police appeal for help to trace missing Tadley teen

Adrienne Knight, defending, described him as a “sad old man” with a "terrible addiction".

She said: “He is a loner, and he is shy and does not make friends. He is a lonely sad little man who lives alone. The images were found sometime after he brought the tablet because he could not go to the library. Once he had started the flood gates opened and he could not stop and did not care if he got convicted."

Judge Susan Evans QC said she considered the “lifelong physical damage” the victims will now suffer.

The tablet containing the images will be destroyed.

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