Shop manager jailed for baby porn

The judge had considered treating Boswell as a dangerous offender

A bookshop manager who distributed pornographic images of babies, on his computer has been jailed for two-and-a-half years.

Mold Crown Court heard that police found up to 4,000 images on Glen Boswell's computer at his shop flat in Llanidloes, Powys.

Judge Philip Hughes said he had a" perverted sexual appetite".

Boswell, 50, now living in Surrey, admitted 22 charges of downloading, possessing and distributing child porn.

Some of the worst categories of child porn were found by police who raided Boswell's flat after a tip off from the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Agency, the court heard.

Andrew Jebb, prosecuting, said Boswell had told police that providing the children appeared to be enjoying what was happening, then it was all right by him.

Your offending shows a dark, sinister and rather worrying side to your personality, Judge Philip Hughes

But Mr Jebb said it was clear that some of the children were particularly distressed.

One video showed a baby suffering serious sexual assault by an adult man and another was handcuffed while sex acts took place.

Judge Hughes told Boswell that the case was aggravated by the fact the offences had continued for four years, the number of images involved and that many were distributed to others.

"As far as the children were concerned, you did not yourself directly abuse them but the very fact of what you were doing was in itself an abuse of these children," he told him.

"You have a depraved and perverted sexual appetite.

"Your offending shows a dark, sinister and rather worrying side to your personality."

More pornography

He said he had considered treating Boswell as a dangerous offender, but decided against it after a probation sexual assessment showed that his risk of re-offending was "low".

As well as direct distribution, the court heard Boswell used a file share system allowing others to automatically download his images.

'Abhorrent and horrific'

He had also written fantasy stories, fiction about adults abusing children, including a baby.

Andrew Green, defending, said it was accepted that Boswell's offences were "abhorrent and horrific" and that the material was sickening.

"It is clear that for quite some time, he has harboured a deeply distorted pattern of thinking," he said.

Boswell, was ordered to register as a sex offender for life.

He was also banned from working with children and from accessing the internet to download or distribute indecent images.