A MAN caught at his Warrington home with indecent images of children left the country while under investigation and returned to his Latvian homeland.
Viktor Smirnovs eventually returned and when police went back to his home they found that he had downloaded even more of the disgusting images.
His vile behaviour landed him before a judge at Liverpool Crown Court who said that Smirnovs had admitted to a probation officer “that his behaviour was wrong and he has a dark side.”
Smirnovs, of Watkin Street, Orford, admitted six offences involving possessing 807 indecent images including videos and downloading 690 such images in all three categories of seriousness.
The charges also included possessing 54 extreme pornographic photographs and videos and possessing five prohibited images of children.
Chris Hopkins, prosecuting, said that police had gone to his home on April 4, 2019 as a result of suspected internet activity and they seized a laptop and four electronic storage devices.
“There was evidence of searching for the material on the computer and images were created and stored between 2016 and 2019.”
After the devices had been examined attempts were made to speak to the defendant who could not be found, said Mr Hopkins.
He was circulated as wanted and after returning from Latvia he was arrested on June 12 last year at his home address. “Two further devices were seized when he was arrested and they had indecent images on them.
“In other words he had been at it again.”
There were again images in all three categories, totalling 115 images, 12 extreme porn images and five prohibited images.
The court heard he has a previous conviction for possessing cannabis and had been cautioned for a similar offence and battery.
Paul Wood, defending, said the defendant had “found it difficult facing to why he had been looking at these images, a more sinister side to his personality.
“He clearly has a deep rooted problem for which he needs some form of rehabilitation.”
Mr Wood said, “He had a difficult time recently with his mother’s illness and fathers death. He suffered trauma as a child which he thinks may be linked to his current offending behaviour.”
His immigration status is described as “frozen” though it is not clear what that means, he said. The defendant is a hard working man with a partner, he added.
Judge Anil Murray told Smirnovs, “The probation officer is of the view that you are worth a chance and there is a realistic prospect of rehabilitation.”
He sentenced him to 15 months imprisonment suspended for two years and ordered him to carry out 45 days rehabilitation activities and 175 hours unpaid work.
The judge warned Smirnovs, who has to sign the Sex Offenders Register for ten years, “You have come very close to being sent straight to prison and if you breach the order it is almost inevitable this sentence will be activated.”
He also imposed a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for the same length of time.
