A 36-year-old Pontypool man has been given a suspended prison sentence after being found with more than 1,500 indecent images of children on his electronic devices.
Joseph Bold, of Church Road, Talywain, appeared at Cardiff Crown Court where police discovered the illegal content on his Acer laptop and two hard drives during a search of his address on 11 March last year. Officers also found cannabis wrapped in foil at the property.
The court heard Bold had 821 category A images, 374 category B, and 352 other indecent images of children across his devices.
During police interview, Bold provided a prepared statement, saying: “I used Torrent software, a well-known software to download movies, television shows and music. I didn’t intentionally download any child pornography.”
His defence lawyer, Mr Andrew Davies, told the court that Bold had turned to cannabis following the death of a close friend during lockdown, stating: “The death of his friend and isolation present during lockdown have not left him to this day. He understands he needs to be more social.”
Judge Celia Hughes told Bold: “without people such as yourself, the trade in child abuse diminishes.”
Bold was sentenced to eight months imprisonment, suspended for 23 months. He must complete 30 days of rehabilitation activity, 250 hours of unpaid work, and pay a £200 fine. He was also ordered to sign the sex offenders register.
