Ex-policeman and Gt Yorkshire Show director with a child porn stash on his PC

Police discovered the images on two computers at the home of ex-policeman Charles Littleboy in Howe, Thirsk, North Yorkshire.

He pleaded guilty last month to 11 counts of making indecent images of children, four counts of distributing indecent images of children, five counts of possessing extreme pornographic images and one count of possessing 3,904 indecent photographs of children.

Some of the extreme pornography related to bestiality - including material he filmed consensually at his property, the court heard.

Over six years until 2010, Littleboy downloaded images of child abuse from the internet and engaged in depraved discussions with fellow paedophiles.

The indecent images found on his computer included an image of a baby around three-months-old being abused. Other pictures involved boys aged as young as four, and clearly showed distress. One male child was gagged and bound, the court heard.

Simon Reevell, defending, said his client was a shy and private man who now faced “utter humiliation”.

He passed a number of references up to Judge Peter Fox, the Recorder of Middlesbrough, saying: “They speak of a man wholly removed from these offences.”

Mr Reevell said Littleboy cared for his parents, who are aged 84 and 79.

Judge Fox accepted Littleboy’s reputation was ruined, but he added: “What you fail at present to appreciate is the utter humiliation and degradation of the victims of your crimes, both human and animal.”

He jailed Littleboy for two-and-a-half years, put him on the Sex Offenders’ Register for life and banned him from unsupervised contact with children.

Littleboy is a former director of the Yorkshire Agricultural Society, which organises the Great Yorkshire Show.

He was also a police officer with North Yorkshire Police in the 1980s.

Outside court Detective Constable Karl Middlemiss of Northallerton CID, said: “We welcome today’s sentence which follows a lengthy and disturbing investigation into Littleboy’s depraved activity.

“This is the worst case I have seen of this nature in my 17-year career.

“The sentence reflects the serious and repugnant nature of the images in his possession.

“We hope this case sends a clear message that the internet is no hiding place for depravity and thanks to the technology available to the police, the pedlars of child pornography and other illegal images will sooner or later be caught, and will face the full force of the law.”

Littleboy’s sentence was too lenient, the NSPCC said.

Jon Brown, who heads its sexual abuse programme, said: “We are deeply concerned the sentence is not tough enough to drive home the message that possession of child abuse images is an extremely serious offence.

“Very young children, including babies, were sexually assaulted to make these horrendous pictures, which may be in circulation for many years. Many of these children will never be traced, and will not receive the help they need to recover from their horrific ordeal.

“This offender should have received a sentence that will deter others from engaging in this appalling trade, and allow him to undergo treatment.”