Locations
Burdale Close, Hull, East Riding Of Yorkshire, HU9
Description
A sick paedophile has avoided going to prison after being caught with more than a hundred indecent images of children after he sold his laptop to a pawn shop in Hull.
Neil Omer, 57, of Burdale Close, Hull, has taken his white Lenovo laptop to Cash Express in Holderness Road and the company held it for 28 days should Omer have wanted to buy back the item plus interest.
But as Omer had not returned after the set date, the manager at Cash Express accessed the laptop on April 12, 2018 in order to restore it to factory and settings and then sell it on.
Hull Crown Court heard the manager found two files entitled "boys" and the other "girls" and when she opened them she disturbingly discovered indecent images of children and reported this to the police.
A sick paedophile has avoided going to prison after being caught with more than a hundred indecent images of children after he sold his laptop to a pawn shop in Hull.
Neil Omer, 57, of Burdale Close, Hull, has taken his white Lenovo laptop to Cash Express in Holderness Road and the company held it for 28 days should Omer have wanted to buy back the item plus interest.
But as Omer had not returned after the set date, the manager at Cash Express accessed the laptop on April 12, 2018 in order to restore it to factory and settings and then sell it on.
Hull Crown Court heard the manager found two files entitled "boys" and the other "girls" and when she opened them she disturbingly discovered indecent images of children and reported this to the police.
"The category A images included penetrative sex of children between the ages of 10 and 16 years old including penetration of males with sex toys," said Mr Robinson.
"Other prohibited images included cartoon-style illustrated images of children under the age of 12.
"In his police interview the defendant said he had accessed the images using Tumblr and thought that only lawful images could be uploaded to the site and gave a no comment answer to whether he is sexually attracted to children.
"The defendant's past convictions are not similar and were for dishonesty, but he has nothing on his record since 1985.
"The aggravating factors are the videos and the age and vulnerability of the children".
Defending Omer, Kylie Peach said that he was "bitterly ashamed of his actions" and a lonely and vulnerable man with a heroin addiction and "clearly in dire need of assistance".
"Mr Omer is bitterly ashamed of his actions and has been out of trouble for more than 30 years and is a man that can live comfortably within the parameters of the law," she said.
"He says that he has 'learnt his lesson'. He is a vulnerable man and his last relationship ended 10 years ago and since then he has lived a lonely life. He has no friends or family and goes for days without speaking to people.
"He struggles with his mental health and has schizophrenia and depression, but his medication has not been sufficient and his mental health has declined, with Mr Omer being referred to the crisis team before.
"He slipped into using heroin to mask his feelings but has self referred to Renew and wants to go on a drug rehabilitation programme to address his addiction.
"He is at a low risk of re-offending and at a low risk to the public and is clearly in dire need of assistance".
Sentencing him to 10 months in prison, suspended for two years, Recorder Tom Little QC gave Omer full credit for pleading guilty at the earliest opportunity and also imposed a sexual harm prevention order and a 30 day drug rehabilitation programme.
Addressing Omer, Recorder Little said: "You have not been in front of the criminal courts for many years and you have pleaded guilty for offences relating to indecent images and videos found on your electronic devices.
"On March 10 you took your laptop to Cash Express and they waited 28 days in case you wanted to buy it back with interest. But after this time was up, the manager accessed the laptop in order to sell it and found folders labelled 'boys' and 'girls' and this set about the investigation.
"On all four of your devices images and videos were found, spanning across two years in which you viewed them including internet searches.
"You have become addicted to heroin as well as suffering depression.
"Having considered the guidelines it seems that in conjunction with a sexual harm prevention order and assessment by the probation service for drug rehabilitation, there is a realistic prospect of rehabilitation so I am willing to suspend your prison sentence.