A MAN has been sentenced to five years and four months in prison for a number of sexual offences involving children.
Michael Sweeney, 51, of Stowmarket Road, Great Blakenham, Suffolk, appeared at Ipswich Crown Court for sentencing on Thursday, May 2.
He had previously pleaded guilty to sexual assault of a child aged under 13, taking indecent images of a child and three counts of making indecent photographs of children.
The court heard that Sweeney had no empathy for the children in the pictures and that he posed a high risk of sexual offending against children in the future.
“Tackling the online viewing and distributing of indecent images is a priority for police across the country and I hope this shows there are consequences for those who view such images,” said PC Nicola Flack.
“Many people think that viewing indecent images online is a victimless crime, but behind every image is a real child who has been or is being abused.
“Our online child protection team will relentlessly pursue those offenders to bring them to justice and will continue to work to safeguard children.”
As well as the custodial sentence, Sweeney will serve an additional four years on licence, be on the sex offenders’ register for life and be subject to a lifetime Sexual Harm Prevention Order.