Man caught with hundreds of indecent images jailed

Philip Davidson was sentenced at Douglas Courthouse

A man caught with 272 indecent images of children has been jailed for 13 months.

Philip Davidson, 35, was arrested after his partner found pictures on his laptop and informed the police.

Douglas Courthouse heard he had been downloading indecent images for more than 11 years.

Placing Davidson on the sex offenders register for 10 years, Deemster Graeme Cook said the evidence against him was "overwhelming".

He was also handed a sexual harm prevention order, restricting his use of devices connected to the internet.

'Little remorse'

The court heard officers seized multiple electronic devices including a laptop and mobile phone from his home in Douglas.

Officers found still images ranging from level one to four on the Copine scale - which categories the severity of images - with 10 in the most severe category.

He denied four counts of possessing indecent images and was later found guilty after a trial at Douglas Courthouse.

Davidson's defence advocate said his offending had not been consistent, with long periods elapsing between downloads and he had no direct involvement in any child abuse.

But Deemster Cook said any image above level one on the Copine scale would involve children in sexual activity.

He said: "You might think they're just photographs, they're not."

The deemster said Davidson had shown no remorse and had now lost his previous good character.