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A paedophile nurse who downloaded baby rape images was spared jail after a court heard he had "lost everything".
Married dad-of-four Christopher Ewan, 45, used to work at the A&E department at Aintree hospital in Fazakerley.
During lockdown he downloaded more than 100 child rape files, plus extreme porn images showing bestiality.
Liverpool Crown Court today heard that after his sick crimes came to light, his family's home in Netherton was targeted by vigilantes, forcing his innocent wife and children to flee.
Ewan's lawyer explained how "in every sense the defendant has suffered significantly - but it's all down to him".
Police were informed of "suspicious activity" relating to a Sky broadband account and messaging app Kik Messenger last summer.
Officers raided Ewan's former home in Musker Drive, Netherton on June 26, 2020 and seized his Samsung mobile phone.
When he was interviewed by the police, Ewan denied any knowledge of any indecent material.
But the device was found to contain 137 Category A files - the most serious category involving child rape - consisting of 127 photos and 10 videos.
There were 217 Category B images, 130 Category C files, one prohibited "cartoon" image and 21 extreme porn images, downloaded between March 3 and June 23 last year.
Christopher Hopkins, prosecuting, said: "A lot of them were thumbnail images but they did find evidence of saving these images on the device. There was a secure folder, which had suspicious activity on it."
He said it was to be "noted" that one Category A image showed a female baby aged six to 12 months and one Category A video, around 24 minutes long, featured children aged eight, seven and four.
Mr Hopkins added: "So of their type, they are particularly serious images in the Crown's submission."
Ewan admitted three counts of downloading and one count of possessing indecent images of children, plus possessing a prohibited image of a child and extreme porn.
In a pre-sentence report, Ewan claimed he didn't intentionally download the images or do it for sexual gratification, but he has since confessed that isn't true.
Desmond Lennon, defending, said: "He unreservedly accepts deliberately downloading this material. He also accepts at the time there was a sexual interest in children and the notes indicate, being pressed, accepts it remains."
Mr Lennon said Ewan was married for 19 years with four children, but developed an interest in adult porn, which the dad described as "thrill seeking".
He said his client had been off work due to "stress" and his interest in adult porn progressed to viewing child sex abuse images.
Mr Lennon said if Ewan was spared jail, he could receive "the assistance he perhaps now belatedly recognises that he needs".
The lawyer said: "He understands how it's not only affected him, but people who are very important to him, his wife and children.
"His wife has left him, the marriage is over and his four children have been taken away from him."
Mr Lennon said when Ewan's crimes first became public knowledge, it had a "catastrophic effect" on the family, who then lived in Netherton.
He said: "The home was vandalised, bricks were thrown through the window, paint was thrown at the front door and people congregated outside, behaving in an intimidating way. The effect on his children in particular has been devastating."
Mr Lennon said his children had now moved, Ewan hadn't seen them since July and he only spoke to them "intermittently".
A letter from The Walton Centre said Ewan had muscular degenerative issues and was currently deemed incapable of working by the Department for Work and Pensions.
Mr Lennon said Ewan was an engineer before retraining as a nurse at the age of 30 and had worked in A&E "conscientiously" since 2010.
He said: "His fall in terms of his professional life he described to me this morning as catastrophic. His nursing career is over."
The barrister said Ewan wouldn't be allowed to practise as a nurse again and would "inevitably" be struck off.
He said: "It's all down to him. He has lost everything in real terms."
Mr Lennon suggested his client, who felt "shame, regret and disgust", could be rehabilitated in the community.
Judge Anil Murray told Ewan: "You were of previous good character. More than that, more than just having no previous convictions, you were of positive good character and worked as a professional person.
"By this offending you have thrown all that away."
He added: "Your offending has had a terrible effect on your family."
The judge said sentencing guidelines indicated a starting point of 12 months in prison, but he had to increase this because of the "particularly serious" Category A images, before giving Ewan a discount of one third off his sentence, for his early guilty pleas.
Judge Murray said by law he had to consider guidelines on whether this sentence should be served immediately, and because Ewan had no history of poor compliance with court orders, was thought to have a realistic prospect of rehabilitation, and jailing him would have "some significant impact" on his family, he was "able, but only just, to suspend the sentence in this case".
He handed Ewan 10 months in prison, suspended for two years, with a 40-day Rehabilitation Activity Requirement.
The judge said he wouldn't make a "punitive element" to the order as Ewan wasn't suitable for unpaid work, adding: "There is no point in ordering a curfew when your interest is sitting inside looking at a computer."
Ewan must sign the Sex Offenders Register and comply with a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for 10 years.