A MAN who served his country with distinction in the Armed Forces has been given a suspended jail sentence for possessing indecent images of children.

John Joseph Dundon, 58, of Hope Street, York, obtained the pictures from a Russian website, York Crown Court was told.

His laptop was seized and four category A images- the most severe form - were found, 46 category B images and 105 Category C images.

Terms he placed in the search engine included ‘Jail Bait Video’, said Ben Campbell, prosecuting.

Glenn Parsons said in mitigation that Dundon had initially denied the allegations because he had not admitted to himself what he had been doing, but he had pleaded guilty to three charges of possession of indecent images on the day of his trial.

He had been working as a counsellor for people with mental health issues but had lost his job and experienced public shame as a result of the offences.

The Recorder of York, Judge Paul Batty, said Dundon had served his country with distinction, including tours in Northern Ireland in the 1970s, and was of previous good character, but the creation of such images represented the "real abuse of real children".

He imposed a ten month jail term, suspended for two years, and a two year supervision order, and placed him on the sex offenders register.