A Nottinghamshire man caught with nearly a million indecent images of children on his home computer has been jailed for 12 years.
Thomas Leonard was arrested after a laptop was found at his New Ollerton home during a police raid last October.
When officers began to forensically examine it, they found more than 900,000 images of young girls and other similar pictures.
There were so many police were only able to categorise a small percentage to see how serious they were.
Officers still found more than 500 pictures classed as ‘category A’ – the most serious kind.
They also discovered he had been taking pictures in the local area and editing them using software to turn them into indecent images.
Leonard, 23, of Bracken Avenue, appeared at Nottingham Crown Court where he admitted engaging in sexual activity with a child, trespass and possession of indecent images of children. He was told he will serve a minimum of nine years.
His actions were despicable
Det Insp Pete Quinn said: “Leonard’s crimes were some of the most disturbing we have dealt with when it comes to indecent images.
“His actions in filming and photographing those around him in the local community were despicable and mark him out as a profound danger to the community.
“We are pleased to see how seriously the court has taken these offences.”
