Yorkshire paedophile jailed after being caught accessing child porn images for the THIRD time

Kyle Clark defied a sexual offences prevention order (SOPO) by continuing to access the sickening images from his home in Castleford.

The 31-year-old was locked up for 21 months after a court heard he continues to pose a high risk of committing similar offences.

Leeds Crown Court heard police searched his home in August 2018 after receiving information that illegal images were being accessed from the address.

Clark answered the door and told officers they would not find any illegal material on devices at his home as he had not offended for three years.

Computer equipment, electronic devices and a USB stick were among items seized and analysed by West Yorkshire Police.

Christine Edgerton, prosecuting, said officers found 575 illegal images of children.

Most of the images were of female children aged between five and 11 years old.

Officers discovered that computer equipment was also fitted with cleaning software.

Clark had deleted over 700 files shortly before officers executed a search warrant at his home.

Computers were also fitted with software which enables files to be shared with others.

The defendant was interviewed about the offending and said he was accessing the images at a time when he was drinking six litres of strong cider a day.

Clark, of Teal Close, Castleford, pleaded guilty to making indecent images of a child and breaching a SOPO.

Clark was convicted of 21 counts of possessing indecent child images in 2014 and was made the subject of a community order.

He was given a police caution in 2016 for making an indecent image of a child.

West Yorkshire Police obtained a SOPO against Clark in the civil courts in 2018.

The order was designed to stop him re-offending.

Brian Russell, mitigating, said: "He continues to try and minimise his culpability for this type of offending and puts it down to when he is at a very low ebb in his life or when he is drunk.

"He sometimes claims he can't remember what is going on.

"He knows he can't go on this way and the stakes are rising every time he breaks a court order."

Jailing Clark, Recorder Ian Harris said: "I have taken the view that there is no alternative other than immediate imprisonment to punish you and as a future deterrent to you and to others.

"If it wasn't for individuals like you, scouring the internet for these images, then children would not be abused and subjected to all the degradation that comes with it.

"It was a gross breach of the order and you were using determined and sophisticated attempts to wipe your electronic fingerprints."