Police raided the 34-year-old’s home after getting a tip-off he had been uploading indecent images and talking about abusing youngsters online.

Officers seized three phones, a laptop and a tablet and a number of cameras.

They contained a mix of category A, B and C images as well as sexualised communications with children.

He was arrested the same day at his workplace in Portsmouth on January 28, 2019.

Appearing at Portsmouth Crown Court on Tuesday he was charged with three counts of making indecent photographs of children, two counts of attempting sexual communication with a child and one count of encouraging or assisting the commission of an offence believing it would be committed.

He previously pleaded guilty.

Robinson, of Midway Road, Colchester, was jailed for 20 months in prison after being found in possession of indecent images of children.

He must register as a sex offender for ten years and will also be given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for ten years.

The order was imposed for five years, but was found to have been breached in 2019.

Chelmsford Crown Court heard police executed a search warrant at his home, asking Parham to provide details of all devices capable of storing digital images.

Two iPhones were in his bedroom, one of which had a browser set to private, which was in breach of the order.

Two further iPhones, which Parham did not disclose to the officers, were found in a locked glove box in his vehicle.

On one of the devices, police recovered an indecent video at category C, depicting a 14-yearold girl.

Police also found bookmarks had been created which indicated a sexual interest in young teenage girls.

Search terms and history revealed he had been seeking images of teenage girls.

Parham, of Carisbrooke Avenue, Clacton, admitted making an indecent image of a child, two counts of failing to comply with notification requirements and three breaches of a sexual harm prevention order.

The court heard he “carried a burden of care and responsibility” for his two parents, both aged in their 70s.

Judge David Turner QC said: “You say in your letter to me that you’ve had time to reflect on your life and you understand your reckless and thoughtless actions will have consequences.

“Indeed they will.”

He added: “I face the uneasy dilemma of what to do with you today – whether to simply send you to prison, or to see whether I can, by not immediately sending you to prison, in the longer term leave the public, and I hope you, in a rather better position.”

Parham was sentenced to 15 months imprisonment, suspended for two years.

He was ordered to complete a rehabilitation programme and a ten year sexual harm prevention order was imposed.

The 37-year-old of Avenue Road, Westcliff had his home raided on March 6, 2019 and various devices were seized.

Two of the devices were searched, with one containing a single category C image – the least serious kind of indecent material – while another had three category B images, and a further 747 category C images.

Most of the images were of young girls, with some under five years old.

Basildon Crown Court heard that Whitsed had encrypted software on his computers, and that he had sought the material over a long period of time.

Whitsed went on to admit two counts of making indecent images of a child and was sentenced on Tuesday.

He dressed in a dark navy suit and wore a face mask throughout the hearing

Judge Ian Graham told Whitsed that some of the images contained “very young” girls and that Whitsed’s crimes “were not victimless”.

He said: “These were all young girls, some very young indeed, and it was clear from the records traced from computers that you had deliberately seeking out these images over a period of time. There were search words such as ‘pre-teen’.

“The reason these offences are so serious is because these are not just fantasies or made up images. They are real pictures of real children.

“They have been forced or persuaded to take these photographs.”

Judge Graham gave Whitsed a two year community order, which included 60 days of rehabilitation and also unpaid work of 60 hours.

The judge warned Whitsed that if he committed any further offences, or did not complete the work, he would be brought back before the courts.

Laura McLeod, prosecuting at Colchester Magistrates’ Court, said officers seized a number of electronic devices and carried out a forensic examination.

She said: “But in essence, a number of these are pre-pubescent children, including babies – at category A the crown would say it is clearly not suitable for this court.

“The starting point in relation to category A images is one year in custody.”

Finch, of Paxman Avenue, Colchester, admitted three counts of making indecent images of children.

The charges related to 751 images at category A, 1,451 pictures at category B and 5,883 images at category C.

The court heard Finch had co-operated fully with the police investigation, attending the police station for a voluntary interview under caution.

Magistrates were told he also submitted to a polygraph test.

Magistrates declined jurisdiction of the case and ordered a pre-sentence report be carried out.

A sentencing hearing will be held at Ipswich Crown Court on Tuesday, April 13.

Finch was released on unconditional bail until the hearing, remaining subject to notification requirements which will keep the police informed of his whereabouts.

Police became aware of his activity after a vulnerable teenage girl went missing in March last year.

She was later found, but it became apparent she had got into a vehicle with McCallum, who had given her money and offered to buy her a coat.

McCallum, who in 2014 was convicted of making indecent images of children and causing a child to engage in sexual activity, was stopped by officers and his phone was checked.

In breach of a sexual harm prevention order, he was found to have downloaded and used the social media app Snapchat before deleting it.

He had also been using the dating app Tinder without permission and had failed to register a mobile phone with the police.

When further investigation of his phone was carried out, police found he had sent inappropriate messages to five other children

Chelmsford Crown Court heard he used false names on each occasion to avoid detection.

He invited one young girl to a party and told her “she best be worth the cab money.

To another girl, he sent requests for naked photographs and even offered to pay for the pictures.

The court heard one girl felt “disgusted and used”, while another feared McCallum may approach her if he knew what she looked like.

Judge Walker deemed McCallum to be a dangerous offender.

Of one victim, he said: “Her mother understandably was frightened as a result of your communications.”

McCallum, of HM Prison Chelmsford, previously of Destination Drive, Colchester, admitted six breaches of a sexual harm prevention order, four counts of failing to comply with notification requirements and three counts of sexual communication with a child.

He was sentenced to five years imprisonment and will remain on the sex offender’s register for life.