Paedophile Wakefield pensioner 'turned to internet for company' and spent years downloading sick abuse images

Barry Wadey, 72, had been searching and downloading the sickening images and videos for six years, Leeds Crown Court heard.

Having denied the offences, he changed his pleas on day two of his trial in February of this year. The case had been opened by the Crown and witness statements had been read out.

He admitted making indecent images of Category A - the most serious - and Category B.

The court heard that, acting on intelligence, the police went to Wadey’s home on Clifford Court in Ossett with a warrant on March 4, 2020. He was the sole occupant and the officers seized two Apple Mac computers, two hard drives and a multi-media player.

They found 245 images and videos across the devices across Category A and B, depicting children as young as three.

Some had been downloaded as far back as 2012, and that he had downloaded images at least once a year for six years. There was also evidence of searches he had made to find the vile material, and had bookmarked them on his computer.

During two subsequent police interviews he largely gave no comments and denied any sexual interest in children.

He has no previous convictions. Mitigating, Satpal Roth-Sharma said: “Through his own fault he has had this hanging over him for four years. He held his hands up, albeit, too late. He has realised what he has done wrong.

“He turned to internet to keep himself company. What he searched for became worse, he says. The realisation from that is that he needs help and would welcome that.”

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Judge Simon Phillips KC told him: “It’s a sad state of affairs to be in the crown court for such serious matters.

“You had been collating a collection of images since 2012.”

He gave him 14 months’ jail, suspended for 24 months, 30 rehabilitation days, put him on the sex offender register for 10 years and gave him an indefinite-length sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) to curb his internet use.

He was also ordered to pay £900 court costs, given that he allowed the case to go to trial before admitting his guilt.