Stephen Bradbury 76

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Pervert pensioner Stephen Bradbury has been jailed after he was caught with hundreds of child abuse photos - including one of a baby girl being raped. The 75-year-old sex offender was arrested after police visited his Bucknall home in January last year.

Officers could see him trying to conceal a device as they looked through his window. He came clean and told the officer there were indecent images on his iPad.

It was analysed and contained hundreds of pictures at category A, B and C. There was also an extreme pornographic image and an one of an 18-month-old toddler in considerable distress as she was being raped.

Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court heard he has previous convictions include indecent assault; gross indecency with a child; indecent assault on a girl under 14; and possession of indecent images of children. Now Bradbury has been jailed for 20 months.

Prosecutor Mark Brookes said police analysed the iPad and it contained 126 still images and 75 movies at category A - the most serious; 35 still images and eight movies at category B; and 34 still images and six movies at category C.

Bradbury, of no fixed address but formerly of Fellbrook Lane, Bucknall, pleaded guilty to three offences of making indecent photographs of children; possession of a prohibited image of a child; and possession of extreme pornography.

Paul Cliff, mitigating, said the case did not involve any onward distribution of images. And he said there was a relatively modest amount of images compared to other similar cases.

He said Bradbury suffers with chronic emphysema, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, diabetes and arthritis. Mr Cliff added that Bradbury admitted his offending to the police and pleaded guilty.

Judge Sally Hancox said: "You were asked if there was anything you had not declared. You responded, 'There is child porn on it. I am going back to prison, aren't I'?

"You accept that you have an ongoing attraction to children. The children were disturbingly young. One is a child aged 18 months being raped. She is clearly in extreme distress."

Judge Hancox added that Bradbury will serve half the sentence before he can be considered for release by the parole board but the 'likelihood is he will remain in custody for some time'.

She made him the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) for 10 years and he will be on the sex offenders' register for the same period.

DC Darren Bithell, from the sex offender management unit, said: "We welcome the sentence imposed upon sex offender Stephen Bradbury. He is a person that poses a risk to children and to the public overall.

"We will always investigate and seek to bring to justice those who commit sexual related offences. Safeguarding victims is also of paramount importance to us."