Possessed disgusting collection of indecent images of children.

A chef who was found with a disturbing collection of indecent images of children has avoided jail time.

Steven Finall, 45, was discovered with a horrifying stash of child sexual abuse material, including images of toddlers being raped. He was arrested and charged with three counts of making indecent images of children (IIOC), one of possessing IIOC, and one of possession of cocaine.

Liverpool Crown Court heard that police executed a search warrant at Finall's home in Warrington on January 13 following intelligence received about his activities on Snapchat. During the raid, officers seized a Samsung tablet computer, a mobile phone, and a quantity of cocaine. A forensic examination revealed the presence of IIOC on the devices.

In total, Finall possessed 190 depraved images and videos, including 36 classified as category A, the most severe category, with one depicting a two-year-old child being raped. There were also 32 category B images and 122 category C images, many of which were found in cache files, indicating they had been deleted from the devices.

Despite the severity of the offenses, Finall was given a suspended sentence due to his "good prospect of rehabilitation." Recorder Mark Ainsworth, sentencing Finall, stated that the court takes a very dim view of this type of conduct and emphasized that behind each image is a child being sexually abused.

Finall was sentenced to six months in prison suspended for two years. He was also ordered to complete 100 hours of unpaid work, 35 rehabilitation activity requirement days, and is now subject to a sexual harm prevention order for seven years, as well as sex offender registration requirements for the same period. The devices and cocaine seized were forfeited and destroyed.

The Swan pub, where Finall had worked as a chef, released a statement following the sentencing, expressing shock and disgust at the news. They confirmed that Finall no longer works at the pub and that any allegations made to them previously would have been dealt with swiftly and appropriately through their HR processes.