A RETIRED postman and hospital radio volunteer has been ordered to register as a sex offender for possessing indecent images of children.

Police found posters inviting boys to go to Randolph Adrian Pickard’s home, computer print-outs of indecent images of boys under 16 and sexual chat room discussions, and nearly 9,200 different illegal child sexual image files on his home computer when they raided his home, said Nick Adlington, prosecuting.

There were 20,000 copies of the images which had been gathered over many years.

Police did not find any evidence that Pickard had actually approached or invited boys to his home. Mr Adlington said: “It seems to be fantasy.”

The Recorder of York, Judge Stephen Ashurst, told Pickard: “At 73, you have now acquired a criminal record. You have lost your good name and you are shamed publicly. I hope that, together with the preventative orders I have made today, will best protect the public and keep you out of trouble in the future.”

He passed a community order with three years’ supervision and a compulsory sex offender treatment programme on Pickard and made him subject to a sexual offences prevention order limiting his access to the internet. He must also register as a sex offender for five years.

Pickard, of Temple Garth, Copmanthorpe, pleaded guilty to 14 charges of possessing indecent images of children, most of them of the least serious level.

For Pickard, Andrew Semple said he was isolated socially and had never had a proper relationship with anyone. He did not connect his viewing of the images with the child abuse needed to produce them and put them on the internet.

Mr Adlington said West Midlands Police alerted North Yorkshire Police that Pickard had bought CDs of sexual images of children over the internet.

When he was arrested, he told York police: “It was a long time ago and I didn’t think they were indecent.”