Michael Swann 55

Description

A paedophile told the police that he watched videos of kids aged as young as three being raped because it was "a lift and a release".

Michael Swann downloaded thousands of indecent images over the course of around 15 years in order to feed his "insatiable, deviant and depraved interest in children". The three-time convicted sex offender also secretly filmed young girls naked and in their underwear.

Liverpool Crown Court heard that the 55-year-old's home on Lockerbie Close in Warrington was raided by police on the morning of March 3 last year. Officers seized several electronic items from the property including five computers, six memory sticks, two hard drives, an SD card and a mobile phone.

Zahra Baqri, prosecuting, described how a "vast collection" of 7,532 indecent images of children was discovered on these devices. Of these, 334 pictures and 821 videos were graded as being in category A - those showing the most serious form of abuse, including a clip of a girl aged between three and four being raped.

A further 879 photographs and 326 films in category B were also discovered, as were 5,023 pictures and 74 videos in category C. Swann was meanwhile found to have recorded 34 category C images of girls in states of undress.

He was shown to have been downloading his vile stash since July 2008, including collecting 2,950 "cartoon depictions" of children engaged in sex acts. More than a million further images had been saved on his devices, but it is unknown whether any of these were illegal materials as they were not assessed due to their sheer quantity.

Under interview, Swann "admitted having a sexual interest in children and obtaining sexual gratification while searching for and finding indecent images". He also told detectives that he "found viewing such images as a lift and a release".

The pervert meanwhile stated that the girls were "unaware they were being filmed and photographed" while in their underwear and naked. In a statement which was read out to the court on her behalf, their mum said she had been left "shell shocked" and "broken" after he "preyed on" her children.

During a second round of questioning in December last year after the contents of his electronics had been analysed, Swann added that he "knew what he was doing was wrong but he was too frightened to ask for help". He has a total of seven previous convictions for 22 offences, including receiving nine months for possessing and making indecent images in 2003 and a community order for like offending in 2004 - an order which he was later locked up for five months for breaching.

Helen Chenary, defending, told the court: "He readily accepts that he has issues with this kind of behaviour. It is troubling.

"This is not a man coming before the courts for the first time in connection with these offences, yet he is still struggling. He accepts that he was given an opportunity almost 20 years ago now.

"He would very much like assistance, but he knows that option is unlikely to be available. He makes nothing but apologies for his behaviour, but he knows he needs help.

"It appears he has struggled for some time with both his deviance and a general feeling of being overwhelmed and struggling to cope. He made a very serious attempt on his own life.

"He accepts that he has squandered help on a number of occasions. He has had a difficult few years."

Swann admitted taking indecent images, possession of indecent images, possession of prohibited images and three counts of making indecent images. He was jailed for five years on Monday.

Sentencing, Judge David Aubrey KC said: "There is a constant pattern of a sexual preoccupation with accessing indecent images. In my judgement, you have an insatiable, deviant and depraved interest in young children.

"You were downloading, storing, possessing and taking such images for your own sexual gratification. All of these images you downloaded perpetuate the abuse and exploitation of young children.

"They are all victims and - by doing that which you were doing over a protracted period of time - you were not only perpetuating the abuse and exploitation of young children, it perpetuates the market. These offences also have to be assessed against the other material which was not categorised which was found on your electronic devices when the police searched your home address.

"There was in excess of a million other images that were not assessed, and thus not categorised. In my judgement, the offences to which you have pleaded guilty must be assessed not only against your previous convictions and the protracted period of time, but also assessed against the images that were not ultimately categorised because of the volume of them."

Swann was also handed a 15-year sexual harm prevention order. He will be required to sign the sex offenders' register for life.