Subscribe to our FREE daily newsletter for a round-up of the biggest stories from across Surrey Sign me up! Thank you for subscribing See our privacy notice Invalid Email

A TADWORTH grandfather whose 10-year addiction to child porn ended with a police raid on his home has been spared a jail sentence.

William Newcomb, 73, was handed a suspended prison sentence on Friday after pleading guilty to 14 offences of child pornography.

Guildford Crown Court heard that detectives discovered 765 indecent images of children.

One of the images was of an 18-month-old baby, and many others were in the worst categories of child pornography, the court was told.

Newcomb, of Ballards Green, Tadworth, was arrested on March 18 this year and his computer was examined by police experts.

Ruby Selva, prosecuting, said 636 of the images were in category one, the least serious level of child pornography.

She said 15 were in category two, 47 in category three, 65 in category four, and two in category five, which is the most extreme level.

"One of the images was of a child only 18-months-old. Another was of two girls lying next to each other. One had been tied up with rope," she said.

Ms Selva said Newcomb had confessed to looking at indecent images since 1999.

"He said he had been very naive and stupid. But he said he had no sexual interest in children," she said.

Larry Matthews, defending, told an earlier hearing that his client had two sons and three grandchildren.

"His family want him to get help," he said.

Mr Matthews said Newcomb had become interested in pornography while caring for his seriously ill wife at home.

"He would find a custodial sentence very hard to cope with," he added.

After reading probation and medical reports on the defendant, Judge Michael Addison sentenced him to a four-month jail term, suspended for two years, and put him under a two-year supervision order.

He also ordered him to be placed on the sex offenders' register.

Judge Addison told Newcomb: "These photographs are of real children suffering real abuse. People who misuse them encourage that trade."