Mark Flack 58

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A man jailed for amassing almost 60,000 indecent images of children in 2015 is back behind bars following the discovery of further illicit photos.

Mark Flack appeared at Durham Crown Court by video link from the city’s nearby prison, where he is on remand, after his arrest following police visits to his home, in Horden, in October and, again, in December.

The 57-year-old defendant, of Fifth Street, admitted three counts of making (downloading) indecent images of a child, offences dating between November 7, 2016, and the day of the first police raid in October, last year.

Chris Baker, prosecuting, said the latest charges relate to 260 indecent images, four in the most serious category, found on devices seized in that first police visit to his home.

The court heard the defendant has also already admitted six breaches of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) put in place following his 2015 conviction, at Ipswich Crown Court, when he received a 21-month prison sentence.

That case involved a total of 58,493 indecent child images which were found on various electronic devices removed by police from Flack's former home, in Red Lodge, Suffolk, in October 2014.

But sentence in the latest case has been delayed as police returned to his address in Horden, in December, and recovered a computer hard drive, the contents of which are yet to be examined.

Mr Baker told the hearing: “Further work is being done by police in relation to that hard drive.

“The question will be as to the creation dates of any further images found on that seized hard drive.”

Robert Mochrie, for Flack, said: “It seems a device was missed in that inquiry (in October) and its been used again.

“He’s pleaded guilty to the latest charge. He has only one previous conviction for which he went straight to prison in 2015.”

Mr Mochrie said his client has, therefore, never had the benefit of any probation intervention to address his behaviour.