A paedophile caught at a York hostel with hard-core child porn and sex pictures of a child he had abused has been jailed for just over two years.

Paul Stubbs, 53, told police the sex images were on a CD which was with some of his property that his divorce solicitors sent to him on his release part-way through a six-year sentence for abusing and photographing a girl, York Crown Court heard.

Chris Smith, prosecuting, said the 850 child porn images on Stubbs' computer included pictures of the girl, two child bondage scenes, and pictures of children taken from nudists' websites.

The porn was discovered by key worker Lynne Parkin, who became suspicious of Stubbs when he was living at the York Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders (YACRO) in Walmgate, because he had locked his computer with a password. In February this year she found his computer unlocked and saw the child porn.

Hartlepool-born Stubbs pleaded guilty to possessing the child porn and copying some of it on to a CD.

He was ordered to serve another 442 days of his original sentence, plus nine months for the new offences.

York Crown Court heard that the Home Office had revoked Stubbs's parole on the day the child porn was discovered and he had been in jail ever since.

Stubbs's barrister, Glenn Parsons, said he wanted to go back to jail so he could get help in conquering his sexual problems. He had felt so guilty about his child porn actions, he had considered harming himself.

He had deliberately used a child porn picture as a screen saver, so that he could turn the computer on, leave it, and know that within 30 minutes it would show the picture to anyone passing.

He had not abused any children since his release, but had been tempted to view child porn when it was sent to him.

Stubbs was released from jail in August 2002, and in early 2004 moved into the YACRO accommodation, said Mr Smith.

Eight hundred of the photos were low-level porn, but 40 were hard core and two featured bondage. Of the images, 800 were at level one, but two were at level five - a level assigned to what is considered the most vile and disgusting.

Last month, Pat Smith, the director of YACRO, said Stubbs, formerly of St Paul's Road, Hartlepool, was using his own computer and had not been given access to one by the centre.

She said Stubbs had been supervised carefully and did not have access to the internet.

Updated: 10:47 Tuesday, April 06, 2004