Jail for porn addict who led double life

A SUFFOLK businessman who became addicted to child porn, has been jailed for looking at thousands of indecent photographs.

Ipswich Crown Court heard that 57-year-old Anthony Prior paid for 5,000 internet images over a three and a half year period.

Prior, of Whitehorse Road, Capel St Mary, pleaded guilty to 16 specimen counts of making indecent photos of children under 16 between November 1999 and April 2003.

The court heard that Prior led a "double life", as a successful charismatic businessman by day and secretly spending hours in front of his computer at night.

Peter Gair, prosecuting, said the landslide child pornography investigation in America led police to raid Prior's home earlier this year when his computers and discs were seized.

A total of 5,000 photos were discovered and of the 16 specimen charges, one was of the most serious level five, ten at level four, three at level three and two at the lowest level, one.

However, the court heard that Prior's main interest was those at level one, which were of girls aged 13 to 16 in erotic poses.

Prior was said to have looked at pictures in the more serious levels because of "curiosity" rather than for "sexual arousal".

Mark Norman, mitigating, said: "We have here a terrified defendant, a successful businessman finding himself branded a monster because he sat at his computer night after night looking at this type of material.

"There must be cases where the courts can make distinctions between those who are a risk to children, and those who become addicted to this type of offending."

Mr Norman told the court that Prior had suffered a "horrific" childhood which had damaged him psychologically.

Judge John Devaux said: "Despite the mitigation and Prior's previous good character, "only a prison sentence could be justified."

Prior was jailed for eight months and ordered to remain on the Sex Offenders' Register for ten years.