A man who pleaded guilty to seven counts of making, distributing and possessing indecent images of children escaped a custodial sentence on Tuesday morning (June 12).
Aron Mortlock was discovered to have downloaded and distributed both still and moving images of children when his electronic devices were seized by police.
The 35-year-old, who was living with his father in Court Lodge Road, Horley, at the time was said by Recorder Bruce Houlder, to have been “obsessed with the images.”
Mortlock, who is a father himself, received an eighteen month suspended jail sentence suspended for two years. Recorder Houlder also enforced a sexual harm prevention order.
Hundreds of indecent images and videos of children of all ages, including babies, were discovered by police on Mortlock’s phone, laptop and tablet device.
Guildford Crown Court heard how, after confiscation and inspection, police found the images had been exchanged via the multimedia messaging application, WhatsApp between May and December, 2017.
Searches inputted into the devices were also found to be indicative of searches for indecent images.
Jonathan Davies, for the prosecution told the court room that: “The defendant had been living with his father and signed off from work with depression and anxiety.
(Image: Steve Porter)
The court also heard that the defendant had previously spent two months receiving mental health treatment in a hospital and had also attempted to take his own life.
Before passing sentence, Recorder Houlder said: “There is no reason to believe you sought to gain financially from your actions.
“No children who were involved were known to you personally and although you have your own children, they were not involved.
“It is absolutely clear that you became obsessed with these images. Prison is not a pleasant place as I am sure you are aware but it is probably what you deserve.”