Weston-super-Mare man jailed over 58,000 indecent images of children

A Weston-super-Mare man has been jailed for possessing 58,000 indecent images and videos of children as young as six.

Andrew Coombs’ stash of material was found on hard disks in his home on Palmer Row when police attended his property on an unrelated matter.

Suspicions were aroused when officers noticed a number of computers which linked to an external network. Police arrested the 46-year-old when they found a search for bestiality on his internet browser.

At a hearing at Bristol Crown Court on Friday, Coombs was given a 24-week prison sentence.

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The court heard that police attended his address on January 17, 2011. Most of the images and videos seized were on “catalogued” hard drives, some of which were encrypted.

Police discovered a total of 58,000 images and videos, 26 of which fall under the most serious category. Some of the hard drives remain encrypted and have been sent to GCHQ for processing.

Prosecuting, Jason Taylor said the material contained images and videos of boys and girls ranging from six to 14 years of age.

Defending, Brendon Moorhouse argued that only 0.3 per cent of the files were in the most serious category.

He added that the cataloguing did not suggest the material was for distribution.

Judge Michael Longman said he was mindful that Coombs had not cooperated with police accessing the discs. He added Coombs would not be sentenced for what might be on the remaining hard drives before giving him 24 weeks for each of the 16 counts of possessing indecent images. His terms will be served concurrently.