A Brighton man has gone to prison for the third time over offences relating to indecent images of children.
Charles Cawley, 63, unemployed, of London Road, Brighton, was sentenced at Lewes Crown Court on Thursday (28 May).
Sussex Police said that he had previously pleaded guilty to 13 offences of making indecent images of children, two offences of having extreme pornographic images, one of having a prohibited image of a child and of having three computers in breach of a sexual offence prevention order (SOPO) he was given when he was last convicted in 2011.
The force said: “For the latest offences he was sentenced to a total of five years – three years for breaching the SOPO and two years for the indecent images offences, the sentences to run consecutively.
“There was no evidence of actual offending with children by Cawley, direct or online.
“These latest offences came to light in January 2014 when a laptop computer was found hanging from a wire in a lift shaft at the Hare and Hounds pub at Preston Circus in Brighton, which was closed for renovation.
“The worker who found it turned it on and found indecent images so handed it to the police at once.
“Police inquiries eventually led to Cawley who at the time had been living and doing some casual work there on the renovation.
“When he was arrested officers found two more laptops in his possession. He readily admitted everything.”
Detective Constable Chris Smith said: “Cawley is a repeat offender who is unable to resist the temptation to look at this type of material, accessing images of some of the most appalling scenes of child abuse.
“We trust that this latest sentence, his longest yet, will cause him to reflect and to seek help.
“All such images are by definition images of child sex abuse and we will continue to pursue anyone who is suspected of accessing them.”
