A man has been sentenced to 12 months in prison, suspended for two years, after making and possessing indecent images of children and animals, while he lived in Wiltshire.
Nicholas Hughes, now of Trinity View, Caerleon in Newport, was in possession of more than 400 of these photos.
The 56-year-old was sentenced at Salisbury Crown Court on Friday, April 26 after committing the offences between March 1, 2014, and May 24, 2022, while living in Seend.
He was charged with making 250 Category A indecent photos of a child, possessing six prohibited images of children, making 37 Category B indecent images of children, and making 84 Category C indecent images of children.
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Hughes was also charged with possessing 26 extreme pornographic images with an animal and faced another charge of possessing a further 78 extreme pornographic images with an animal.
Investigating officer DC Kerry Foster, of the child internet exploitation team, revealed that the offences took place over a number of years and were committed using different devices.
She said: “These cases are often difficult for those involved and I would like to thank those in the court, as well as Hughes' family, for their patience and bravery of listening to his actions.
"These offences dated back a number of years and were discovered over a number of different devices.”
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DC Foster said the force will take sexual offences reported to them “incredibly seriously” and has urged anyone with information on similar offences to come forward.
She added: “Wiltshire Police will always take incidents of sexual assault and other sexual offences incredibly seriously.
“We have a dedicated team for investigations into individuals using the internet to upload and download indecent images of children and associated exploitation of children.
“If you have information on child sexual exploitation, please report it to us via 101 or online.”
Hughes has also been given a sexual harm prevention order for 10 years.
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