A MAN who committed a catalogue of "evil" offences against children is today starting a seven-year prison sentence.Daniel Hinton, 30, of Stowupland Road, Stowmarket, was jailed yesterday after he admitted a string of child porn offences and sexual assaults.

A MAN who committed a catalogue of "evil" offences against children is today starting a seven-year prison sentence.

Daniel Hinton, 30, of Stowupland Road, Stowmarket, was jailed yesterday after he admitted a string of child porn offences and sexual assaults.

Judge David Goodin described the offences as evil and said they were of a particularly disgusting nature committed against young victims, adding they would have a "degrading and damaging effect".

Hinton had pleaded guilty to 11 charges of indecent assault, six charges of indecency with a child, 16 offences of making indecent photographs of children and one of possessing indecent photographs of children.

Ipswich Crown Court heard yesterday the offences had involved four boys and one girl and had happened over a period of more than 10 years.

Simon Spence, prosecuting, said: "It concerns the serial abuse of no fewer than five children over a period of time."

The court heard Hinton had persisted in the abuse, with one child abused by him two to three times a week. Mr Spence added Hinton had filmed some of the children while they were being abused.

Mr Spence said that, as part of the police investigation, officers had seized Hinton's computer equipment, which he had kept in his loft.

They found the hard drive of the computer had a number of downloaded images that amounted to 12,852 of children being abused.

Ian James, mitigating, said the images had not been distributed and there had been no commercial element.

He added Hinton had not used or threatened force when abusing the children, but had admitted to doing favours for two of them in return for co-operation.

Sentencing Hinton to seven years in prison, Judge Goodin said the custodial sentence would have to be of some length to protect young children.

He made an indefinite Sexual Offences Prevention Order, banning Hinton from communicating with children under the age of 16 or being on the same premises as them.

Judge Goodin also ordered the forfeiture and destruction of all the seized material.