THE courts opted against sending a pervert to jail after he was caught with images of children being sexually abused.

Taylor Wilson admitted being in possession of the depraved material, which included some graded in the worst category of abuse.

The 21-year-old was charged with three counts of making indecent images of children by downloading them.

He also faced sole charges of possessing indecent pseudo images of children and possessing a prohibited image of a child.

The defendant admitted all of the charges before Warrington Magistrates’ Court on a previous occasion, with the case committed for sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court on Tuesday.

The court heard how authorities found a total of 78 photographs of children of an indecent sexual nature, of which 35 were placed in category A – the most severe category involving child rape.

Of the remaining 43, eight were graded as category B, while 35 were said to be category C.

Officers also found nine indecent pseudo-photographs of children and a prohibited image of a child, which are digitally manipulated or computer-generated representations showing sexual activity.

The court heard that the possession period was between September 2021 and May 2022.

Wilson, of Armstrong Close in Locking Stumps, was sentenced by judge David Swinnerton to eight months in prison, but this was suspended for 18 months.

He was also ordered to complete 30 rehabilitation activity requirement days during this time.

In addition, the defendant must sign the sex offender register and abide by the terms of a sexual harm prevention order, both for the next 10 years.