A CONVICTED paedophile caught trying to hide Snapchat and TikTok accounts from the police has been given one final chance to avoid prison spell.

Callum Vere, 20, of Easton End, Basildon, was handed a two-year suspended sentence in June of last year after being found guilty of three counts of possessing indecent images of children, three counts of distributing indecent images of children and possession of extreme pornography.

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Police had found a large number of images and videos of child sex abuse and a video of him sexually abusing a dog, the court was told at that hearing.

He was placed on the sex offenders registers and slapped with a sexual harm prevention order which required him to inform police of any social media accounts or electronic devices capable of storing images.

During a police monitoring officer visit on January 14 this year, officers found electronic devices capable of storing images and learned he had created accounts on TikTok, Snapchat and Discord.

Vere had deleted the Snapchat account in an attempt to prevent police from accessing the digital records, the court heard.

In defence, Vere, who has autism and ADHD, argued he had lacked understanding of the order, a point which was contested by the CPS.

The court was told Vere was working with professionals at Basildon Hospital to seek mental health treatment.

Taking a lenient view, Judge Andrew Hurst, deferred sentencing for three months to provide Vere an opportunity to prove he was dedicated to getting better and could follow the terms of his order.

Addressing Vere, he said: “I am giving you this time to demonstrate your willingness and cooperation in addressing your mental health.

“You must enthusiastically do all you can to help others get you well and you need to keep and maintain your compliance to the sexual harm prevention order.

“If, in June, we find that you are doing as well as you can and you continue to stick to the terms of the order and there is no more offending, then we will look me not having to send you immediately to prison.

“This is very much in your control now, otherwise if you mess it up, then I don’t have any choice left to me but to send you to prison.”