Paedophile with baby abuse pictures sentenced

Craig McCrory had thousands of sexual images of children on his phone and laptop

A paedophile who collected thousands of child abuse images including those of babies, which he then shared with others, has been sentenced.

Craig McCrory, 33 and from Houghton-le-Spring, County Durham, had more than 3,000 sexual videos and pictures of children aged between one and 17 on his phone and laptop, Newcastle Crown Court heard.

McCrory was jailed for two years, suspended for two years, after he admitted distributing and making indecent images of children.

Judge Carolyn Scott said he had been assessed as posing a medium risk to children but there was a "realistic prospect of rehabilitation".

Police seized two phones and a laptop when they raided McCrory's home on 17 September 2022, prosecutors said.

They found conversations he had had on WhatsApp and Kik from May 2022 in which he had shared three category A images - the most serious level - and 37 category C ones, the court heard.

Officers discovered he had a total of 120 category A images, 59 in category B and 2,993 category C on his phone and laptop, including some he had saved in a hidden folder, the court heard.

In mitigation, Susannah Proctor said McCrory, of Buttsfield Terrace, had had a long-standing addiction to pornography, which "strayed" into illegal images of children.

She said he was "wholly disgusted" with his behaviour and had made no attempts to contact children for sex.

McCrory must also complete 150 hours unpaid work, sign the sex offender register for 10 years and comply with a sexual harm prevention order for a decade.