A YOUNG man found with almost 600 of indecent images of children, including some as young as four-years-old, has avoided jail.

George Stallibrass, 20, developed a sexual interest in children after speaking to likeminded people online as he had no friends and was bullied throughout his school life, Basildon Crown Court was told yesterday.

Stallibrass, of Oxford Road, Rochford, avoided a jail sentence during yesterday’s hearing.

He had previously admitted three counts of making indecent images of a child.

The court was told police had searched Stallibrass’s home on June 25 last year and seized digital items including a laptop, iPad and iPhone.

Gavin Pottinger, prosecuting, said: “A total of 586 indecent images were found including some videos too. Some of the children in the images were as young as four and six years old.

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“The images were sent via a dropbox online and the laptop seemed to be used mostly for this.

“He was looking at the images for many years and there was a considerable difference in age between him and some of the children in these images.”

Christopher Martin, mitigating, said Stallibrass struggled to fit in with his peers at school and has struggled with his mental health.

He said: “He went online to make friends as he didn’t have any and it started when he was 14 when a stranger sent him indecent images of children and at that time the children were around his age.

“As he got older the pictures he was sent got wider in terms of the age groups but he did have an interest in the older children but accepts the other images were viewed too.”

Stallibrass was sentenced to three community orders, with each one to run concurrently.

The requirements of the orders are that he completes 50 days rehabilitation activity requirement, 100 hours unpaid work and the Horizon programme, which aims to stop people with sexual convictions reoffending.

He was also made subject to a notification period for five years and a sexual prevention order for five years.

Referring to the images found on Stallibrass’s devices, Recorder Claire Davies, said: “These are real children who suffer harm for the pleasure of you and others like you.”