A HAMPSHIRE man, who was caught with more than 800 child pornography images, has avoided jail. 

Philip Overton, 26, of no fixed abode, but formerly of Broad Chalke Down, Badger Farm, pleaded guilty to making and possessing indecent images of children between November 26, 2019, and April 29, 2020.

Overton also pleaded guilty to giving the police the wrong address. He gave them the address of his family's home after he had moved out and is now registered as having no fixed abode. 

He was sentenced at Winchester Crown Court on Friday, August 9. He was jailed for 20 months, suspended for two years. 

The court heard that Overton had 510 category A images, 242 category B and 51 category C. 

Ben Thompson, prosecuting, told the court that police attended his former address in October 2020. A Dell laptop and iPhone were seized. 

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The court heard that the images were shared in a Skype chat. Mr Thompson said: "Every child suffers harm every time a pornographic image of them is shared. Of the 803 images, 627 of them were moving with the longest being 18 minutes. They involved children from the age of four to 13. 

Annabel Hazlitt, mitigating, said: “It has been four years since the police knocked on his door. He is very remorseful of what he has done. He took sexual gratification in what he was doing which made him physically sick. 

“He was deeply struggling with his own sexuality, which isn't an excuse, but he is coming to terms with what he did.”

On Overton giving the wrong address to the police, Ms Hazlitt said: “He has admitted to me he didn't read it properly. He admitted he was wrong and pleaded guilty.”

She added: “This is a young man who managed to stop offending on his own four years ago. He has identified a house to move into in Exeter. He plans to be a HGV driver through a government scheme.”

In addition to the suspended prison sentence, Judge Nigel Lickley KC ordered Overton to complete 60 rehabilitation days and 100 hours of unpaid work. He was also given a sexual harm prevention order for ten years. His Dell laptop and iPhone were ordered to be destroyed. 

The judge said: “If you don't comply, you will be brought back here and sentenced again.”