A MAN who took children's photographs off Facebook pages and used them to make sexual images has been jailed for 18 months.

James Alan Taylor, 35, admitted 15 charges of possessing indecent images and videos of children, possessing extreme pornographic images and videos and making pseudo photos of children. It was the second time he had been convicted.

Michael Cahill, prosecuting at York Crown Court, said police found the children's altered photographs when they raided Taylor's home in Micklegate, York, along with other sexual photos and videos of children and photos and videos of extreme pornography featuring adults.

Judge Tom Bayliss QC said: "The public would be horrified - will be horrified - to know that men like you take images of children from the internet, posted there by them for their pleasure and those of their friends, and use them for your perverted sexual lust.

"In order to deter you and to deter others from behaving in the way you have behaved, there must be an immediate custodial sentence."

In addition to the 18-month prison sentence, Taylor was put on the sex offenders' register for 10 years and made subject for 10 years to a sexual harm prevention order that bans him from using the internet without special software or controls aimed at stopping him repeating his offences.

He had been convicted in 2000 of making and distributing pseudo photos.

His solicitor advocate Liam Hassan said he was unemployed and isolated socially without social or work friends, so spent long hours at home on the Internet. That had led to him committing the offences.

He had mental health issues and needed help in dealing with his behaviour, said Mr Hassan.

Mr Cahill said two of the three children in the four pseudo photos had been identified.

The judge said: "The children weren't physically harmed, but knowledge that their photographs, which have been innocently placed by them on the internet, have been used by you and manipulated in this way must have had an impact upon them."

Mr Cahill said all four pseudo photos were category C, the lowest of three categories. Police found 29 indecent photographs of children, of which five were in category A, the highest, and four indecent videos of children, none of which were category A. There were 36 extreme pornographic images and 24 extreme videos.