Persistently amassing large collections of child sexual abuse images before, during and after court proceedings for identical offences.

A paedophile has been sentenced again for possessing indecent images of children, including some as young as one, despite being sentenced for similar offences last summer.

Andrew McGown, 62, of Tan Y Bryn, near Llandysul, was sentenced to 10 months, suspended for 18 months, in June 2023 after being found with over 11,000 images and videos of child sex abuse and bestiality. However, a routine police visit in October revealed more evidence of child abuse imagery on his computer.

Prosecutor Sian Cutter told the court that police discovered over 1,000 indecent images of children on McGown's desktop computer, despite him denying viewing them. The images were inaccessible, but evidence showed they were created the day after he purchased the computer and accessed while awaiting sentencing for his previous offences.

One of the images found involved a child as young as one being sexually abused. The court heard evidence of extreme pornography on the computer, but no charges were pursued. A USB shortcut was also discovered containing over 1,000 more indecent images of children.

McGown claimed he didn't know how the images got on his computer, suggesting they may have been on a blank disc he used to install Microsoft Office. However, he couldn't explain how they ended up on a USB instead of the disc.

McGown pleaded guilty to possessing 117 Category A indecent images, 72 Category B images, and 1,884 Category C images. He also admitted breaching his suspended sentence order.

Hannah George, defending, argued that McGown's guilty plea was the strongest mitigation in his case. She acknowledged his continued access to some of the images after his initial sentencing and said he had found his time in custody "a reckoning" and "very difficult."

Addressing McGown's continued offending, Recorder C. Rees KC, the judge, said: "It's a pretty determined pattern of behaviour despite the opportunities the court gave you. The sentences of the court will only go up if you commit these offences again."

McGown was sentenced to 12 months for the Category A offence, with concurrent sentences of eight months and three months for the Category B and C offences. He must also serve an additional six months for breaching his suspended sentence. He will remain subject to a sexual harm prevention order and must continue to register as a sex offender.