A PAEDOPHILE has walked free from court – despite police finding his sickening stash of child sex abuse images.

Karl Davenport had been amassing the vile collection for months before it was rumbled.

The 46-year-old was later charged with possessing indecent images of children, three counts of making indecent images of children and one of possessing extreme pornographic images involving animals.

He indicated guilty pleas to all charges and was sentenced at Chester Crown Court, where he avoided immediate custody.

The court heard from prosecutor Jayne Morris how the authorities found the depraved material on davenport’s mobile phone.

This was submitted for a forensic analysis, where officers recorded the presence of 355 indecent images and videos of children.

Of these, 21 were graded as category A – the most severe grading involving child rape – while 26 were category B and 308 were category C.

The search also revealed the presence of seven extreme pornographic images portraying an act of intercourse with an animal.

These were ‘explicit, realistic, grossly offensive, disgusting or otherwise of an obscene character’.

Davenport, of Eversley in Widnes, was sentenced by judge Steven Everett to eight months in prison suspended for two years.

He must also complete 35 rehabilitation activity requirement days, as well as sign the sex offender register and abide by the terms of a sexual harm prevention order, both for the next 10 years.

In addition, the court approved an order for the forfeiture and destruction of his mobile phone.