A paedophile was arrested after he put child porn on his iPod – and then sold it to Cash Converters.

Frederick Appiah, 35, was caught when the shop assistant looked through the MP3 player and found the vile videos.

When the father-of-one went to reclaim the gadget, detectives arrested him.

But despite having disgusting “Level Four” images – some of the worst possible involving children as young as three being raped – Appiah escaped jail.

The Malawi-born cleaner, who claimed asylum in 2003, could have been given a five-year jail term, but was let off with a suspended sentence.

And the decision has infuriated child protection charities. Peter Saunders, of the National Association for People Abused in Childhood, said: “This sentence sends out the wrong kind of message to society. It’s like saying, ‘Go ahead and abuse kids’.”

Appiah had pawned his iPod at Cash Converters in Barking, East London, last September but a staff member spotted the sick videos and called the police. When Appiah, also known as Peter Bakali, returned to repay the money and get his MP3 player back, he was arrested.

There were eight videos on the iPod. One, lasting 32 minutes, featured a girl aged between five and 10 being raped. Further sick videos were found on his laptop computer.

A police source said: “This man must go down as one of the most stupid paedophiles ever.”

Appiah, from Barking, admitted eight counts of having indecent images of children at Snaresbrook Crown Court.

Judge Louise Kamill gave him an eight-month suspended sentence, saying: “The fact that you have shown some shame is important.” Appiah must sign the sex offenders’ register for five years and also attend a sex offenders’ course.