A YOUNG Carlisle man amassed a sickening collection of more than 3,000 child abuse images, including ones of a three-year-old girl being restrained and raped.

Jack Liam Dalton, 23, who immediately admitted his wrongdoing when police raided his home, had seen his life “completed destroyed” as a result of the seven offences he admitted, the city’s crown court heard.

He committed those offences after "losing himself in an online world which was utterly depraved", said the judge.

At an earlier hearing, Dalton, of Rosehill Drive, Carlisle, pleaded guilty to seven charges.

Those offences were: two counts of attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity; three counts of possessing indecent child images – including just over 900 of the most serious Category A images; one count of possessing extreme pornography, and possessing a prohibited image.

Brendan Burke, prosecuting, said police acting on intelligence raided the defendant’s home on February 16, 2021 and seized various devices. On Dalton’s iPhone, they found the indecent child images, moving and still.

There were also 933 Category B indecent child images and 1,345 Category B images, as well as extreme pornography, featuring people having sex with dogs.

The barrister described in detail some of the most extreme child abuse captured in the images, including sexual assaults on children aged three and five, with the younger girl being restrained as an adult sexually assaulted her.

Mr Burke also outlined the attempts by Dalton to engage two children in sexual acts while he talked to them on a chat website. He asked both children – a girl and a boy – to carry out sexual acts, the court heard.

“He made admissions even while [his house was being searched] and in interview,” said the barrister. “He said it started when somebody sent him a link.” Following this, the defendant visited the illegal site multiple times to retrieve images.

Jeff Smith, for Dalton, told the court: “This man’s life has been completed destroyed. He knows that his offending is serious and he knows the options open to the court.” As a result of the prosecution, the defendant had lost his job and his friends.

“He doesn’t have much of a life,” said Mr Smith. “His only escape from the family home is going out with his father walking his dog outside of Carlisle because he doesn’t want to be seen by anyone.”

The defendant was supported by his mother, who was in the court’s public gallery.

Judge Ian Unsworth KC told the defendant: “The sheer number of Category A images and the extreme youth of those depicted in some of those images are significantly aggravating features in this case.”

But the judge noted that it was unusual for such an offender to immediately volunteer information to the police as Dalton had.

The judge said: “There is no doubt that over a period of three years you have lost yourself in an online world which was utterly depraved, which witnesses the systematic and brutal abuse of young children, toddlers and even babies.

“You were doing so from the comfort of your home while seeing this material online.” Yet Dalton had shown a willingness to improve himself to ensure there was no repeat of his offending and he had diagnosed with a mental health disorder.

The judge noted that probation staff had concluded that prison – while deserved for the offending – would to little to support rehabilitation. Bearing this in mind, said the judge, he was just about persuaded that the interests of society are best served by a suspended prison term what will include rehabilitation.

Judge Unsworth imposed 16 months custody, suspended for 18 months, with 25 rehabilitation activity days and a sexual offending behaviour programme.

The defendant, who wept through much of the hearing, will be on the Sex Offender Register for a decade and subject to a sexual harm prevention order for the same period. The defendant had no previous convictions.

The UK and Ireland Stop It Now campaign offers help and advice for anybody who has concerns about child abuse.

The charity's confidential helpline offers live chat and secure messaging service for anyone who has concerns about child sexual abuse and its prevention – whether they’re worried about their own thoughts, feelings and behaviour, or about another adult or young person.

Callers to the charity's helpline can remain anonymous. "We speak to thousands of people every year, and help them take action to protect children and young people from sexual abuse and exploitation," says the charity's website.

The helpline number is 0808 1000 900.