A GWENT man has been jailed for 10 months after he was found in possession of 121 indecent images of children following a police search.

Byron Rolls, aged 58, of Cherry Trees, Markham, was sentenced for two counts of possessing indecent images and for breaching a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO). Cardiff Crown Court heard that the two sets of photos are part of the same collection that was found on an Acer laptop at Rolls’ residence on January 14, 2016. Gwent Police had carried out the unannounced visit on January 14, 2016, due to the defendant already being on the sex offenders’ register.

He had previously served custodial sentences for similar charges in Reading.

Meirion Jones, prosecuting, said: “Officers asked if they could check his internet history to which he agreed.

“When asked what he was using it for, the defendant stated ‘not for porn’ and became anxious.

“The computer was running in incognito mode.

“The defendant was physically shaking and admitted that he had been using it to watch adult porn when he was drunk.”

The SHPO enforced upon Rolls had prohibited him from accessing the internet for improper usage.

Upon accessing the defendant’s laptop, officers found 36 still images in a thumbnail cache with 2 deemed category B and 34 as category C.

A second set of images found during further analysis found one category A image – the worst offence – along with one category B image and 83 category C images.

Mr Jones expressed his belief that two of the category B images within the collection were “very close to the knuckle” of being deemed category A offences.

Stephen Thomas, defending, acknowledged the “borderline” images in question and told the court that his client was “remorseful” for his actions.

He said: “The defendant accepts that he was using the images for sexual gratification. He entered his guilty plea at the first opportunity.

“He realises the harm that is done by this type of offending. He is disappointed in himself that he couldn’t control what he was doing and he has lapsed.”

Along with a custodial sentence, Judge Tom Crowther QC, also imposed that Rolls be put on the sex offenders’ register for eight months.

“You have accepted that you were browsing these sites deliberately and you accept that you are sexually attracted to children,” said Judge Crowther.

“The images of children being abused causes a great deal of damage in this disgusting trade and they are being abused to satisfy men like you

He added: “I’ve been told that you’re an intelligent man so to continue this behaviour while knowing the harm that you were doing is mystifying.”