A PENSIONER was caught with more than half a million indecent images of children, including vile abuse pictures, during a police raid at his home.

Geoffrey Fox, 69, avoided jail at Basildon Crown Court yesterday despite the huge haul of indecent images found on his computer devices during a raid at his home in Leigh in April 2019.

Following the raid, police checked four devices including a laptop and desktop computer, finding 528,030 indecent images of children.

As police raided his home, he told them he knew “why they were there and what he had done”.

Harry Hewitt, prosecuting, said: “Essex Police received information about the internet being used at a property to access indecent images of children.

“He told police he knew what they were looking for and gave them access to his devices. There were four main devices including a laptop and PC. He has no previous convictions.”

Mitigating, Christopher Martin told the court Fox struggled with the time delay in the case appearing in the courts.

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He said: “There has been quite a long delay since the initial police raid and every day he’s been worrying that he could go to prison.

“He’s worked all his adult life in telecommunications and still works as a window cleaner.

“He suffers high blood pressure and it’s been worse during the delays and these proceedings.”

He told the court that Fox, who is now single, has children and grandchildren. He was previously married and divorced.

Judge Samantha Leigh said she did not understand the delay in the case.

She said: “You are now 69 and these offences date back to April 2019 and it’s taken the police and Crown Prosecution Service a ridiculous amount of time to get this to court.

“When police arrived and raided the property, you identified yourself, told them you knew why they were there and gave them access to the material.”

Fox, who now lives in High Street, Gravesend, admitted two counts of make indecent photographs of a child, possession a prohibited image of a child and possess extreme pornographic image.

He was handed a nine-month sentenced suspended for 24 months, ordered to complete 60 rehabilitation activity requirement days, and complete an accredited sex offenders programme. He has also been put on the sexual offenders register.