A RYDE man caught with child sex abuse and bestiality images on his computer has been spared jail.

John Salim Nazir Aridi, of Victoria Street, appeared before the Isle of Wight Crown Court on Thursday.

At a previous hearing on March 3, the 38-year-old admitted possession of 70 prohibited images of a child, three counts of making indecent images of a child, and one count of possession of three extreme pornographic images.

Prosecutor, Mary Aspinall-Miles, told the court the 70 prohibited images found were a combination of Hentai style images depicting sexual activity. She said they did not involve real children but resembled them.

There were also six Category A images – the worst kind – ten Category B, and 214 Category C.

The three extreme images related to movies involving bestiality.

Police were notified of Aridi’s offending through information received from his IP address. They seized his computer and mobile devices.

Mrs Aspinall-Miles said Aridi lied to police initially, claiming he did not recognise some of the things being transferred to his Cloud Drive, which had been suspended.

She said he gave a complex and convoluted account of how he downloaded things in bulk, and items were appearing on his drive he did not recognise.

An investigating examiner discovered huge amounts of pornographic images and a large number of deleted items.

Mrs Aspinall-Miles said a degree involved girls between the ages of 14 and 17, and some as young as ten. She said his search terms were also indicative of his interest.

Jonathan Underhill, defending, said Aridi had pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity and was a man of previously good character.

He said Aridi’s interest started with legitimate pornography which developed into illegal images, largely due to isolation.

He said Aridi was deeply remorseful, with a high level of understanding, acceptance, and disgust at his own behaviour.

Mr Underhill said prison was not somewhere his underlying problems could be addressed, and Aridi was likely to engage well with probation.

Presiding judge, Recorder Malcolm Gibney, said Aridi presented as a vulnerable individual and described him as the author of his own destruction.

Aridi was sentenced to ten months’ imprisonment, suspended for two years.

He was made subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for ten years and ordered to complete 30 rehabilitation days.