Opera singer 'had child porn to stamp it out'

Keith Mills denied he gained any sexual gratification from the movies and photographs found on his home computer, saying he wanted to help "stamp it out".

But yesterday at Leeds Crown Court, Judge Penelope Belcher said a probation officer's report was sceptical about his motives "and I have to say so am I".

"The reason is, it was not necessary to repeatedly go back online and download images to assess this issue. Further more if you had reported the matter to outside authorities that would have been supportive of your suggestion that you were wishing to crusade on behalf of these children."

But she pointed out the "unpleasant and horrible" images were downloaded between May 2008 to June 2009 and ... "in my view a crusader would have gone to the authorities before that.

"It would appear following the breakdown of your second marriage you were a man living on his own and became lonely with too much time on your hands. You made use of the internet no doubt for lawful purposes but also some unlawful purposes."

Mills, 59, of Sowood Avenue, Ossett, Wakefield, said to have been with Opera North for 20 years, latterly as a chorus singer, admitted 21 offences of making indecent photographs or images.

The court heard a total of 1,108 indecent images were recovered including 163 at Level 4 and 18 at Level 5, the most serious, involving children as young as three.

Imposing a nine months sentence suspended for two years with supervision and ordering him to attend the Northumbria sex offender treatment programme, Judge Belcher said she had faced a stark choice whether to jail him immediately but had decided the best course for the public was for rehabilitation.

She warned him that if he committed any breach he would got to jail. "The abuse to which children are subjected to produce these images does not bear thinking about."

Mills was also ordered to register as a sex offender for 10 years and barred from employment which would allow him unsupervised access to children.

John Bull, prosecuting, said police executed a search warrant at Mills's home on June 18 last year. He said he had started watching adult pornography on the internet when he was lonely after the breakdown of his second marriage and discovered a legitimate website was being used as a "platform hosting pornographic material depicting the sexual abuse of children".

He said he had deleted it when he saw what was involved.

Michael Greenhalgh, for Mills, said he accepted the abuse was appalling but he had not realised the gravity of what he was doing.