A SELF-CONFESSED paedophile with an “entrenched” attraction to children and a history of looking at indecent images breached a court order by installing software designed to delete computer files.

Roy Ingham, 63, was found to have programmes titled ‘Data Destroyer’ and ‘C-Cleaner’ on a device in Colchester, in clear breach of a court order.

Ipswich Crown Court heard he has been a registered sex offender since 1991, when he was convicted of offences of gross indecency with children.

Amongst a litany of previous offences there is a conviction for 15 counts of possessing indecent images of children in 2011.

But the court heard he breached a sexual harm prevention order monitoring his use of electronic devices.

Monitoring officers were carrying out routine checks when they noticed his laptop browser history had been tampered with, while the prohibited software was installed on the device.

They also found he had been using aliases on Ebay and an email address without notifying the police.

Ingham, of Meadow Close, Westhall, Halesworth, in Suffolk, admitted breaching notification requirements and the court order.

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In mitigation, the court was told he had admitted the breaches at the earliest opportunity, while the offences are nearly three years old.

The court heard Ingham accepts he is sexually attracted to children and also asserts he has faced a battle with alcoholism.

The judge was told both issues give him “an ongoing daily struggle to keep these urges under control”.

The court heard an unregistered email address was used as part of his work with an alcoholic support group.

He told his lawyers he “couldn’t remember” downloading the prohibited software.

The court heard Ingham has been sober for five years and is “heavily involved” with Alcoholics Anonymous, both as a user of the group and in the running of meetings.

The judge was urged to keep the offender out of prison, instead offering him “the targeted support” of the probation service.

Recorder Graham Huston said: “There has to be a question mark over your ability to comply with these requirements and remain offence-free.

“Against that, you are candid and frank in acknowledging you have an entrenched attraction to children and that is something which you understand will continue – it’s a question of how you deal with it.”

He added: “It’s been pointed out any programme in relation to sexual offending in the past has been in custody, not when out of custody, and you’ve never had the sort of intervention proposed in the pre-sentence report today.

“Obviously without further help there will be temptation on your part to commit further offences.”

Ingham was sentenced to a 24-month community order, with conditions to complete a programme designed for sex offenders and a 40-day rehabilitation activity requirement.

He must pay £150 in prosecution costs.

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