Reading Crown Court: Newbury man avoids jail after being caught with indecent images of children... again.

A MAN caught with indecent photos of children for a second time has avoided jail once more.

A Reading Crown Court judge told the 56-year-old on Friday that despite his previous conviction, he did not consider him "completely beyond redemption".

Instead, Nigel Rummey was ordered to undergo a second round of treatment for his unnatural urges.

Rummey, of Oakley Road, Newbury, had sent indecent images of children to another male and boasted of supposedly engaging in penetrative sexual activity with a child, as well as collecting pornography so extreme it was illegal, according to Katie Jones, prosecuting.

When police raided his home, said Ms Jones, they found Rummey in a state of undress with the electronic devices containing the disturbing images and conversations nearby.

Rummey admitted publishing an obscene article, making indecent photographs of children in Category C, publishing images of extreme pornography and distributing an indecent image of a child.

All the offences were committed in Newbury between June 4, 2017, and January 14 last year.

Richard Saynor, defending, said his client would lose his job if he was sent to prison.

He pointed out that Rummey's previous offences for child sex images dated back to 2015, for which he was given a community penalty and required to undergo a treatment programme.

Judge Amjad Nawaz told Rummey: "You were, as far as these offences were concerned, engaged in a chatroom with someone known as Dan.

"You used a false identity to correspond and the nature of that correspondence was in relation to a child, purporting to be... engaged in penetrative sexual activity with her.

"The nature of the conversation was, one can assume, to encourage someone else [and was] disturbing, given your previous convictions."

Referring to the subsequent police raid, Judge Nawaz said: "A warrant was executed, your IP [internet protocol] address having been identified.

"You were found in your room; your mobile phone and laptop were on and you were in a state of undress."

Rummey replied "no comment" to questions during his police interview, the court heard.

After reading a pre-sentence report, Judge Nawaz told Rummey his interest in extreme pornography and indecent images of children had become "all consuming".

He added that he had a duty to protect the public from Rummey's "entrenched pattern of behaviour".

Nevertheless, he went on: "I have come to the conclusion that you are not completely beyond redemption."

Judge Nawaz sentenced Rummey to 12 months imprisonment, suspended for two years.

In addition, he was ordered to complete a second treatment programme and to sign on the Sex Offenders Register.

Finally, Rummey was made subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and ordered to pay £445 costs, plus a statutory victim services surcharge.