Leeds father and son found with indecent images

Philip Douglas, 62, and Paul Douglas, 30, were arrested after police executed a search warrant at their home on Cherry Rise, Whinmoor, on May 12 last year.

Leeds Crown Court heard officers received information that illegal images had been downloaded using an internet service provider address linked to the property.

John Bull, prosecuting, said: “They were both frank and co-operative from the start and readily accepted that they were responsible for downloading material.”

Mobile phones, laptops and computers were seized from the property. Philip was found to have accessed 337 illegal images. The court heard 95 of the images were at category A - the most serious level of offending.

Paul was found to have downloaded 391 images and movies. A total of 83 images and seven movies were at category A.

Both men pleaded guilty to seven offences of making indecent images of a child.

Mr Bull said there was no evidence to suggest that the two men knew of each other’s offending.

They accessed the images independently and had not shared them. Both men are of previous good character.

Alex Boyd, for Philip, said his client had been taking part in a programme, called Safer Lives, designed to address his offending since his arrest.

The court Philip still had the support of his wife, who would suffer financially if her husband was sent to prison.

Michael Jowett, for Paul, said his client had also been taking part in a programme designed to address his behaviour.

Both men were made the subject of a three-year community order, during which they must take part in a sex offender treatment programme. They must also go on the sex offender register for five years.