Wakefield paedophile confessed 'I'm a risk to kids' - but is freed on a suspended sentence
A paedophile caught with more than 1,000 sickening videos and images of children being abused told police he was a “risk” to youngsters, but still kept his freedom.
Anthony Hamer was given a suspended sentence for his vile interests, which he had pursued for a decade, Leeds Crown Court was told.
Officers had gone to the 56-year-old’s home on February 27 last year after information was passed to the police that abuse images were being made available to share from his address.
He was present at home when they arrived and was “initially co-operative”, prosecutor Brian Russell told the court.
They seized a mobile phone, two memory sticks and a computer tower. Following forensic analysis they found he had been carrying out searches for the sickening material.
Most images found were inaccessible, but there were 624 regarded as category A - the most serious kind involving the rape of children. Most were videoes and the victims were aged between five and 15.
There were also 373 category B and 320 in category C. He had downloaded them between 2014 and 2024.
During his police interview, Hamer said he had a sexual interest in children and admitted he “posed a risk to children”, Mr Russell said.
But during later interviews with probation, he switched between frankness and offering excuses, the court heard.
Hamer, of Teall Street, Ossett, admitted three counts of making indecent images. He has two previous convictions dating back to 1984 and 1997, but were not of a sexual nature.
Mitigating, Abigail Langford said Hamer was “mentally unwell” and added: “There is an unravelling in his ability to control his sexual urges.”
She said he was “well medicated” at the moment and that he expressed remorse for his actions.
Despite his confession to being a risk, Judge Simon Batiste gave him a 12-month jail sentence, suspended for two years.
He also gave him 35 rehabilitation days with probation, put him on the sex offender register for 10 years and gave him a 10-year sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) to curb his internet use and allow it to be monitored.