A PENSIONER from Queensbury who accessed “perverted and disgusting” indecent images of children during the Covid lockdown discussed it with “other like-minded perverts”, a court heard.

Graham Reeve, 77, of Hillcrest Avenue, appeared before Bradford Crown Court having pleaded guilty at trial to making 12 indecent images of children between March 28 and December 17, 2020, and possessing extreme pornography between the same dates.

The court heard that he had previously blamed the impact of the coronavirus pandemic for his decision to look at the images online. 

That was rejected by Mr Recorder Anthony Hawks.

He said: “I reject that entirely. I also reject your suggestion that you derived no sexual gratification from looking at these images.

“If it wasn’t for people like you wanting to view these images, then they wouldn’t be created.

"You are as responsible as the people that make these perverted and disgusting images.

“There are worrying features about the case. The most worrying one, in my judgment, is that not only were you watching these images…but you were talking about them to other like-minded perverts.

“I hope you are absolutely ashamed of yourself.”

Recorder Hawks sentenced Reeve to 12 months in prison suspended for two years and ordered him to undertake 50 rehabilitation activity requirement days.

He was made the subject of a 10-year sexual harm prevention order regulating his use of the internet and placed on the sex offender’s register for the same period.

Recorder Hawks ordered all the paraphernalia seized to be forfeited and destroyed.