Locations
Ember Crescent, Liverpool, L6
Description
Jem Traynor had more than a thousand images of child sexual abuse on his computer
A former soldier downloaded more than a thousand child abuse images including one labelled paedo archive.
Jem Traynor tried to deny to police that he had a sexual interest in children despite them finding the vile collection of photos and videos on his computer.
Police raided his house in April last year after a tip off and quickly found a vast array of images, including 167 which fell into Category A, the most serious type of abuse.
Zahra Baqri, prosecuting, said Traynor originally told the police the computer was broken but they found it actually worked and later analysis established that Traynor had used it to look at images of children being raped just a week before his arrest.
The court heard that some of the material was particularly extreme, including one in which a young child appeared to be blindfolded while being abused.
Despite this, Traynor continued to deny a sexual interest in children and told police he was not aware he had downloaded indecent images, despite the files having names like paedo archive and pre teen hardcore.
Ms Baqri said: He told the police that he was not interested in the material and would not have downloaded it deliberately.
He also explained that he suffered from PTSD that was exacerbated by his him taking illegal drugs and abusing alcohol.
Ms Baqri said other features of Traynors computer, such as a VPN that made it look like his internet activity was taking place in another country, indicated that he had prepared to download indecent images and tried to cover his tracks.
She also pointed to thumbnails on the computer indicating the images had been opened.
Despite his original denials, Traynor eventually pleaded guilty in Sefton Magistrates Court earlier this year. He was found to have 167 Category A images, 371 Category B images and 454 Category C images. These included 12 videos.
Michael Bagley, defending, said the 51-year-old was an extremely isolated individual who had struggled with PTSD since his return from Bosnia, where he served during the Yugoslav Wars.
Mr Bagley said the fact that Traynor had worked for only a few weeks in the entire 26 year period since he left the army was an indication of the extent to which his PTSD had affected his life.
He added that Traynor, from Everton, had turned to drink and drugs as a coping mechanism and had then begun to act upon an interest in children.
Mr Bagley said Traynor now accepted he did have a sexual interest in children and wanted to address this.
He appealed to the judge to suspend Traynors sentence so he could engage in rehabilitation without going to prison.
Mr Bagley said: He has been taking steps to have counselling.
He presents as someone who is lonely, who needs assistance but is making some progress.
I invite the court to punish him but with a suspended sentence so that he can make the progress needed, that society as a whole would benefit from.
Yet Judge David Potter said the length of time over which Traynor been downloaded images, combined with the extreme nature of some of the material, meant only an immediate jail term was suitable.
Judge Potter said: These images reveal the abuse of children in its most fundamental and horrific form, including penetration and abuse involving animals.
Traynor, 51, of Ember Crescent, was jailed for a year. He must also sign the sex offenders register and was made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order for ten years.