PORTHILL MAN JAILED FOR CHILD ABUSE IMAGES AND ONLINE OFFENDING
Pervert Gregory Heath was caught with sickening child sex abuse images.The 46-year-old was arrested after police received information he had been involved in a conversation with a woman where they discussed meeting to have sex with her and a seven-year-old child and a six-month-old child.
Prosecutor Jo Fox told North Staffordshire Justice Centre police seized items from Heath's home including a laptop.
That was found to contain two indecent images of children at category A, the most serious.
Heath, of Second Avenue, Porthill, pleaded guilty to making indecent images of children.
Kevin Mortlock, mitigating, said Heath accepts his offending and has demonstrated remorse.
Mr Mortlock said: "He acknowledges he is responsible and will be punished for it.
He engaged in online conversations and chat rooms and images were displayed on his computer.
The computer saved them.
They were inaccessible to him.
A forensic scientist had to use specialist software to access them.
There were two images which were not accessible." Heath told the court he was at a loss to understand how he got involved in this behaviour and committed this offence, accepting he is responsible.
No search terms were used and he was not actively saving images, he said.
Police examined a number of devices; the only concern was the laptop which contained two images.
Mr Mortlock added that Heath had lost his job, became depressed, and started abusing alcohol, drinking two to three bottles of wine daily, which caused his behaviour to spiral out of control.
He hasn't offended since his arrest in September 2023, reduced his alcohol consumption, and acknowledged his victims' reality.
Magistrates sentenced Heath to an 18-month community order with a 30-day rehabilitation activity requirement, a three-month alcohol treatment requirement, 150 hours unpaid work, and placed him on the sex offenders' register for five years.
He is also subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for five years.
He must pay £85 costs and a £114 surcharge, and the laptop was ordered to be forfeited and destroyed.
