A man was jailed for two years after admitting to possessing thousands of child abuse images, including some he claimed were "almost indistinguishable" from real images.

Alwyn Williams, 52, of Waunfawr, pleaded guilty to possessing a prohibited image of a child and making an indecent photograph or pseudo photograph of a child in Category A (most serious), Category B and Category C.

Caernarfon Crown Court heard that Williams had already been prohibited from possessing certain images due to previous offending. Despite this, police acted on intelligence that he had downloaded prohibited images and raided his home on May 12, 2020.

Williams was arrested at his workplace later that day. His mobile phone, laptop and charger were seized. During an interview, he told police he had been searching for "cartoon porn" on his laptop and claimed that some of the images were so realistic that "it was difficult to tell that they were simply, what he called, cartoons."

While Williams claimed to have "shredded" such images after use, police found 4,225 images on his laptop. He admitted to searching illicit sites for a year and said he would get a "buzz" if they were subsequently shut down. He also confessed to accessing extreme pornography involving animals out of "curiosity," comparing it to an addiction to alcohol or drugs.

Defense lawyer Laura Knightly acknowledged that it was "not a contact offence" and that Williams regrets his actions. She mentioned his intention to contact Internet Watch, a charity dedicated to combating online sexual abuse content.

However, Judge Her Honour Nicola Saffman highlighted the serious nature of the crime, emphasizing that children are "tortured, raped and sexually abused" to create such images.

"These are not victimless crimes," the judge stated. Williams was sentenced to two years in prison for making Category A images, with concurrent sentences of one year and four months for Category B and C images respectively. He received an additional 12-month sentence, also to run concurrently, for possessing prohibited images.

Williams was also given a ten-year sexual harm prevention order, restricting his access to children among other measures.