'You are digging a hole for yourself': Judge warns former soldier caught with child abuse images

William Anthony Joynes, also known as Tony Joynes, initially claimed the files found on his computer, which included a video of a child being abused and videos of sexual activity between women and animals, had been downloaded accidentally.

But the judge sitting at Leeds Crown Court, Recorder Abdul Iqbal QC, told 59-year-old Joynes that he rejected this, and warned him he would go to prison if he maintained that stance.

He said: "It's wholly without foundation and wholly uncredible.

"It would have been rejected by me had you given evidence and told me you had downloaded these images accidentally and you had no sexual interest in children at all.

"I reject all these submissions. You do have a sexual interest in children."

Prosecutor Timothy Jacobs said that police had attended Joynes' home on Valley Road, Kippax, after being contacted by Google.

The tech company said email addresses linked to Joynes were being used to download images.

Police seized an iPhone, an e-reader, a desktop computer and a hard drive.

They found the video of a child being abused, which was deemed to be Category A - the most serious.

They also found 12 Category C images of children, eight videos of extreme pornography involving animals, and 42 computer-generated animated videos showing children being abused.

During interview with police, Joynes told officers he admitted using pornography, but denied knowing that the images were there on the files he had downloaded.

He pleaded guilty to two counts of making indecent images, possession of extreme pornography and possessing prohibited images.

He has no previous convictions.

Mitigating, Michael Collins, began to explain to the court that Joynes was a film fan would often download huge files, claiming the indecent images were hidden in some of the files he had downloaded, and that he had no sexual interest in children.

But this line of mitigation was abandoned when Recorder Iqbal QC interrupted and told the barrister: "I can't accept that, he is digging a hole for himself."

Mr Collins said that Joynes' interest in pornography had been "shaped" by his time in the armed forces, and that he suffered from mental health issues having been a frontline serviceman during the wars in Bosnia and The Gulf.

Ordering Joynes to stand, Recorder Iqbal QC said: "The facts are depressingly familiar to the court.

"People like you who have otherwise led an unblemished life find it difficult to understand the damage you cause to children.

"If it were not for individuals like you who create a market for this type of material, there would be no need for children to be abused and fuel the market you create.

"It's something you need to recognise. I'm not satisfied you fully understand this."

He gave him eight months' jail, suspended for 12 months, gave him 50 rehabilitation activity requirement days, told him he must sign the Sex Offenders Register for five years and gave him a five-year sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) to limit his internet use.