Paedophile Wakefield window cleaner 'delved into the dark corners of the web'
A window cleaner who fell from his ladders then became addicted to drugs, spent years downloading more than 62,000 abuse images.
Leeds Crown Court heard that paedophile David Moore has since been shunned by his family after details of sickening crimes came to light.
The 50-year-old was caught after officers were passed intelligence about illegal activity from his IP address at his home on Gibson Avenue, Wakefield.
They went to his home on March 17, 2022, and seized three computers, an Apple computer and two hard drives, prosecutor Emily Hassell told the court.
Having been arrested, he fully admitted his crimes during his police interview. Following forensic analysis of the devices, they found 148 Category A images and videos - depicting the most graphic and serious abuse.
There were also 137 Category B, and 62,031 Category C. He admitted three counts of making indecent images. He has no previous convictions.
Mitigating, Glenn Parsons said Moore has accepted his wrongdoing from the outset, entering early guilty pleas.
He said: “It has cost him dear, not just his good name but his good standing. His family have pretty much turned their back on him.
“His explanation for delving into the dark corners of the web relate to the injury he suffered as a window cleaner - he fell from some ladders.
“He was unable to work and found himself virtually housebound and taking drugs to which he became addicted. In a fit of isolation and desperation, he started looking to these images.”
Mr Parsons acknowledged that it was not mitigation, but merely a “half-way excuse”.
Judge Harry Crowson conceded most of the images recovered were at a lower level - in Category C - but said there was a “significant number” at Category A and “in some cases” involved “very young children”.
He gave Moore an eight-month jail sentence, suspended for two years. He also ordered him to enrol on a 43-day sex offending programme and 45 rehabilitation days.
He also put him on the sex offender register for 10 years and gave him a 10-year sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) to curb his interview use.