A UNIVERSITY student, Mark Chesworth Cuddington Paedophile, collected dozens of indecent images including videos of the sexual abuse of children aged five, a court has heard.
Mark Chesworth, of Cuddington, accessed a total of 65 indecent images all of which were for his own ‘sexual gratification’.
Chester Crown Court heard how the 20-year-old, Mark Chesworth, of Boundary Lane South, was attending an unnamed university at the time of his arrest last year.
Prosecuting, Peter Hussey said on his iPhone there were 35 category A images, the worst category of images, including videos of the sexual abuse of a boy aged five, the sexual abuse of a girl aged five, and children being sexually abused by more than one person at a time.
Mr Hussey said: “Cheshire Police Online Child Abuse Team had information from internet companies on his IP address’s involvement in indecent images.
“On March 20 of last year there was a visit to his home address by a number of officers and as a result of the visit to his home address he was arrested.”
Mark Chesworth, who has no previous convictions, pleaded guilty to making indecent images of a child and possessing indecent images of a child last month.
Mitigating, Chantelle Stocks said the offences were due to immaturity and isolation at a time when ‘his whole life revolved around the internet’.
Ms Stocks said: “He is a young man and he was an even younger man in the relevant period.
“He has had a law-abiding life and it tarnishes his record in one of the most unattractive ways.”
On Friday, he was sentenced to nine months, suspended for 18 months, plus 35 days of rehabilitation activities and 200 hours of unpaid work.
He is subject to a one-year mental health treatment order, a 10-year sexual harm prevention order and 10 years on the sex offenders register.
Judge Patrick Thompson said: “The purpose of the sentence is the protection of children.
“It seems to me immediate imprisonment would do nothing to challenge your behaviour and it seems to me it would be more constructive to suspend the nine months for 18 months.
“It is an opportunity for you to start to rebuild your life.”
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