Loner found with child sex abuse pictures released by top judges (From Western Telegraph)

Loner found with child sex abuse pictures released by top judges

9:40am Sunday 12th February 2012 in County News

An inadequate loner found with a stash of child sex abuse images and animal porn has been freed from jail after top judges ruled he would be better off on a sex offenders' course.

Benjamin Peter Jeager, 27, of Trafalgar Road, Haverfordwest, was jailed for eight months at Swansea Crown Court in November after he admitted making and possessing indecent images of children and possessing extreme pornographic images.

But three senior judges, sitting at London's Court of Appeal on Wednesday (February 1st) ordered Jaeger's release after replacing his prison term with a community order.

Mr Justice Treacy told the court police raided Jeager's home in December 2010 and uncovered the cache of pictures.

Jeager's computer contained 67 indecent images of children, five of which were at the second most serious category, as well as 53 "extreme" pornographic images, some showing sex between humans and animals, the judge said.

The court heard Jeager, who suffers from agoraphobia and anxiety, admitted downloading the photos. A probation report found him to be a "medium risk to children".

The judge said: "The appellant is in some respects an inadequate individual whose life at the time revolved around drinking alone at home, smoking cannabis and downloading pornography."

But lawyers for Jeager said he should not have been sent to jail because he admitted his crimes and needed help.

Mr Justice Treacy, sitting with Lord Justice Davis and Mr Justice Blair, agreed to overturn the prison sentence, imposing a three-year supervision order and a requirement to take a sexual offenders' programme in the community.

The judge said: "We are constantly required to consider the future protection of others, however the appellant is not a high risk offender, his offending involves viewing in his own home and there is no suggestion of approaching children or distribution to others."