CHILD pornography was found on a computer belonging to a man living at a multi-occupied house in Rugby.
Jindrich Stepanek admitted responsibility when police visited the house.
And even though he then went back to the Czech Republic, Stepanek returned to face the consequences after officers had found thousands of indecent images on his computer.
Stepanek, 38, of Lower Hillmorton Road, Rugby at the time, was jailed for two years by a judge at Warwick Crown Court and ordered to register as a sex offender for ten years.
He had pleaded guilty to six charges of possessing still and moving indecent images of children, and also admitted having images of extreme pornography showing sex acts with animals.
Matthew Brook, prosecuting, said that in July 2014 the police went to the house in Lower Hillmorton Road after receiving information that child pornography was being accessed.
When asked whether there were any on his laptop, Stepanek responded: “Probably yes.”
Stepanek was arrested, but made no comment when he was questioned, and was granted bail pending an examination of the laptop.
On it they found 2,741 stills and 50 movies classed as being in category A, showing children being subjected to penetrative sex acts.
There were 1,744 stills and 17 movies in category B, involving children in non-penetrative sex acts, and 1,048 category C stills and 23 movies which were indecent but without actual sexual activity.
Mr Brook said a number of the images were of girls aged between three and nine, and in some of the movies the pain and distress of the children involved was evident.
In addition, there were 22 images showing acts of bestiality.
Interviewed again, Stepanek said he had been looking for adult porn and had not deliberately sourced the child images, about which he said he felt ‘not only disgust, but interest.’
He then admitted he did go looking for such material, but said he realised the pain and distress caused by such images after contacting a help-line and had since made a donation to a child abuse charity.
Nick Devine, defending, pointed out that Stepanek had volunteered that the police were likely to find what they were looking for on his laptop.
After being bailed following his initial arrest he contacted the Lucy Faithful Foundation for help, making a donation to the charity and buying a book written for people like him who find themselves addicted to pornography.
“He read that book, which has given him a better understanding of the offences he’s committed and the impact and consequences of them.”
Mr Devine said that shortly after being bailed, Stepanek had returned to the Czech Republic, but remained in contact with the police and came back when he was required to do so – when it would have been easy to simply remain out of the jurisdiction.
Jailing Stepanek, Judge Alan Parker told him: “The images in category A are aggravated by the very young age of many of the children depicted.
“I have also been told that in relation to many of the images, the child victims demonstrated pain and distress. Given what was being inflicted upon them, that is hardly surprising.
“This is one of the more serious cases of this type which has troubled this court recently.
“I am not altogether impressed by the fact that you made a £300 donation, other than the fact that it showed you acknowledged you were guilty.
“But I accept you returned to the United Kingdom when you being charged was inevitable, when others in your circumstances might have sought to avoid that.”
