A Stevenage man has been given a suspended jail sentence after he admitted taking an indecent photograph of a child and possessing almost 20,000 more.

Stevenage Magistrates’ Court heard on Wednesday that David Breen, of Jessop Road, had made a ‘category C’ photograph of a child – defined as one involving ‘erotic posing’ – on or before January 13 last year.

The 56-year-old was at that time found in possession of 19,831 more such images, as well as six prohibited movies and 23 prohibited images of children, and three movies portraying bestiality.

Breen was charged with making an indecent photograph of a child, possessing indecent photographs of a child, possessing pornographic images portraying intercourse with animals, and possessing prohibited images of a child. He indicated a plea of guilty when he appeared at Stevenage Magistrates’ Court on March 14.

On Wednesday he was given a 14-week prison sentence, suspended for two years, with an added supervision requirement throughout that time.

The court ordered him to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work within the next 12 months, and placed him under a sexual harm prevention order – meaning that he cannot alter or delete the internet history on any device he uses, use any ‘incognito’ or private mode, or possess any device that can store digital images or movies.

The court also imposed a notification requirement for seven years, meaning that Breen will have to notify Stevenage Police Station of any change to his name or address within three days, any address where he intends to stay for a week or more, any intended foreign travel at least a week in advance, and of any occasion he has been at least 12 hours in a household or private place where someone younger than 18 stays.

Finally, Breen was ordered to pay an £80 victim surcharge, and £85 in costs.

A destruction order was issued for Toshiba, Compaq and MSI laptops, a white USB stick and a Seagate external hard drive.