10:47am Wednesday 17th March 2010
A MARRIED man who became addicted to internet porn received a suspended prison sentence when he appeared at Liverpool Crown Court.
Christopher Livesley built up a huge collection of adult porn, some of which he swopped with others, and also downloaded child porn.
When police swooped at his Tyldesley home in July 2008 they seized his computer equipment and forensic examination revealed 1,100 indecent images of children and one involving a person performing oral sex on a horse.
A judge told 43 year-old Livesley, of Gatley Close, that he needed help "for what strikes me as a disease."
Defence barrister, Paul Treble said: "He was addicted to porn. He had an enormous amount that were lawful and the others were a modest proportion of the collection he had acquired.
"People used to send them to him, some he deleted but he accepts he looked at others and acknowledges he has to be punished."
"A psychological report shows it can be highly addictive and that is what happened to him," said Mr Treble.
He said Livesley had sought help but has lost his job and the love and respect of his children, and although angry and hurt his wife was in court to support him.
Sentencing him Judge Gerald Clifton said most of the indecent images were in the least serious category but the 25 in two of the other categories "to any normal person are quite repulsive.
"Every on of those images means a child has been abused and every time they are looked at, again in a way a child is abused."
He said that instead of a short immediate jail sentence he would suspend it and send him for help.
Livesley was sentenced to 18 weeks imprisonment suspended for two years and ordered to attend a sex offenders treatment programme. He was also placed under supervision for two years, ordered to sign on the Sex Offenders Register for 10 years and banned him from working with children.
He had pleaded guilty to 19 offences involving downloading indecent images of children and one of possessing an extreme pornographic image between December 2005 and July 24, 2008.
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