A woman who described graphic hardcore pornography to her blind husband has been given a suspended jail sentence for downloading child abuse films.

Sylvia Pearce, 59, from Ivybridge, Devon, admitted three counts of making an indecent image of a child.

Her barrister said she was just a naive woman "finding her way" on the net.

She was sentenced to eight months for each count to run concurrently, suspended for two years, and ordered to sign the sex offenders' register.

'Utterly disgusting'

Plymouth Crown Court heard Pearce downloaded three films, which showed scenes of children as young as eight engaging in sexual acts with adults and each other.

The three films were part of a library of hardcore adult pornography so large it would be impossible to view it all, the court was told.

Prosecutors told the court the pornography was discovered when police were at Pearce's home for an unrelated matter in February 2007.

When interviewed by police, Pearce claimed she downloaded them "for a laugh" and would describe the films to her husband, who was not named in court.

In mitigation, defending barrister Piers Norsworthy said its was a case of a naive woman who was "finding her way on the internet" and that, as a grandmother, the idea of child pornography was "abhorrent to her".

Judge Francis Gilbert QC rejected the claim. Sentencing Pearce, he said: "She knew exactly what she was doing and this was utterly disgusting and depraved."

The judge said he would have immediately sent her to prison were it not for her age and that she had to care for her husband.



