West Yorkshire sex offender jailed for distributing child sex images on Kik Messenger

Ian Asquith was arrested at his home in Wakefield after West Yorkshire Police received information that he had used the Kik Messenger app to post vile abusive child messages which were seen by other people.

Officers went to his home on Manor Road, Lupset, on November 4 this year and seized his mobile phone before he was transported to custody.

John Hobley, prosecuting, said 11 illegal images were recovered from the device.

Two of the images were at category A - the most serious level of offending.

Two images were at category B, two were at category C and there were a further five prohibited child images.

He pleaded guilty to one count of making indecent images of a child, one of distributing indecent images of a child and breach of a sexual harm prevention order.

Asquith, 48, has three previous convictions for sex offences.

In 1995 he was convicted of indecently assaulting a boy under 14.

In 2015 he was convicted of sexual assault of a boy under 13 and four counts of making indecent photographs of a child.

He was made the subject of a sexual offences prevention order after his last conviction.

Mr Flint said his client had suffered trauma as a child which impacted on the way he dealt with sexual urges.

The barrister said Asquith wished to receive treatment to address his offending.

Asquith was jailed for two years and five months.

Sentencing, Judge Neil Clark said: "These offences are serious because children will continue to suffer for as long as people continue to satisfy some bizarre curiosity by looking at them."