A FORMER company director who had more than 11,000 indecent images of children has received a suspended prison sentence.

The youngsters were aged from six to 14, said Rob Galley, prosecuting at York Crown Court.

Terence Patrick Corcoran, 47, must also let police monitor his use of the internet, including allowing them to instal specialist software on any computer he uses for the next seven years.

Judge Andrew Stubbs QC said that some of the images showed children in physical pain as they were sexually abused.

Corcoran had also had software and the ability to remove traces of his illegal sexual images.

Corcoran, of Heron Lane, Scarborough, pleaded guilty to downloading indecent images of children and was given a four-month prison sentence suspended for two years on condition he does two years’ supervision.

He was also made subject to a sexual harm prevention order curtailing his use of the internet and enabling police to monitor his use, and put on the sex offender register, both for seven years.

Corcoran’s barrister Silas Reid said he would not download indecent images again and the offences had been committed at a time when he was convinced he would die soon because he had heart problems that required repeated hospital operations.

“Prior to 2010, he was superfit, healthy and he had a career in financial services, very successful,” he said. “He relished being a big person, being a person who controls a room in terms of business, controls a room in social terms, that was really his persona.”

But now he realised that life was behind him.

Mr Galley said when police raided Corcoran’s home in May 2014, they found 11,056 illegal photos and 46 illegal videos of the least serious category, 136 photos and four videos of the middle category and 233 photos and two videos of the most serious category.

Computer experts found evidence he had searched the internet for sexual images of children.