A LONELY pensioner who was caught with more than 1,000 child abuse images tried to blame a dead friend for downloading the material.

Jeremy Alister-Jones was traced by police through his IP address but denied downloading the images, which included one showing serious abuse of a six-month-old baby.

He claimed that a neighbour who had recently passed away had been piggy-backing off the wi-fi connection at his home in Teignmouth.

Police sent Alister-Jones’s equipment for specialist examination and discovered that he had been the one who had downloaded them.

Alister-Jones, aged 74, who was previously of Teignmouth but now living in Mitcham, South London, admitted making, by downloading, indecent images of children.

He was jailed for 16 months, suspended for two years and ordered to do 40 days of rehabilitation activities by Judge William Mousley, QC, at Exeter Crown Court.

He was put on the sex offenders’ register and made subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, both for ten years.

The judge told him: ’It took you to a very late stage to begrudgingly accept responsibility.

’At the time, you were drinking heavily and leading an isolated life.

’You have since moved to London and explored the help on offer from various services.

’The sentence is increased by the very young age of some of the children, who were shown to be in pain or distress and by deliberate and systematic searching.

’You have no previous convictions, are of good character and have taken positive steps to address your behaviour.’

Miss Hollie Gilbery, prosecuting, said police traced Alister-Jones through his IP address in September 2019 and seized computers on which they found 1,287 images of which 255 showed very serious abuse.

These included a child aged about six months being penetrated and children in obvious distress.

He denied it when first arrested and told police they would find nothing on his devices.

Miss Gilbery said: ’In his second interview, he said another person had access to his wi-fi but his friend had died in December 2019.

He later said he had been ’in a fog’.’

Mr Brian Fitzherbert, defending, said Alister-Jones has little memory of accessing the material and is still coming to terms with what he has done.

He has changed his lifestyle and moved to London, where he has sought help to change his behaviour.

He is in poor physical and mental health and has been diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder.

by CROWN COURT REPORTER