A PAEDOPHILE who downloaded child abuse images was ordered to attend a sex offender programme after a judge told him: “You have a problem.”

Lewis Browne, 29, of Glenview Road, Trevethin, Pontypool, was also handed a suspended jail sentence at Cardiff Crown Court.

Byron Broadstock, prosecuting, said the defendant had downloaded hundreds of indecent images of children, including 81 category A pictures depicting the most serious type of abuse.

Factory worker Browne pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children.

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He also admitted possession of a prohibited image of a child and possession of extreme pornography.

The offences were committed between November 15, 2017 and June 17, 2019.

Hilary Roberts, mitigating, asked the court to take into account his client’s guilty pleas.

Judge Michael Fitton QC told Browne: “You have a problem with paedophilic material.

“Unless you deal with this, it will ruin your life.”

The defendant must attend 35 sessions of the Horizon sex offender programme.

Browne was jailed for eight months, suspended for two years, and ordered to complete a 20-day rehabilitation activity requirement.

He must register as a sex offender until 2030 and was made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order for the next 10 years.

Browne must also pay £535 prosecution costs and a £140 victim surcharge.

Speaking after the case, an NSPCC Cymru spokesperson said: “In downloading images of children being abused, Browne has helped fuel the demand of this sickening online trade.

“For these type of images to exist children are being exploited, often by the very adults they’re relying on for protection, with the traumatic impact of abuse lasting long into adulthood if the right support is not provided.

“This case serves as another wake-up call to the UK Government which needs to be doing far more to protect children from harm by ensuring tech giants remove this type of content from their sites and hold them to account if they fail to do so.”