A Bedfordshire University psychology student caught with hours of child sex abuse videos told a probation officer he was horrified that someone had sent them to him.
Gary Tottingham, 53, had his iPhone and laptop seized and his iCloud account examined after a police raid at his bed-sit in Luton in June 2020.
Prosecutor Richard Sedgwick told Luton Crown Court on Friday, July 30, 2021, that there were 11 Category A videos, the most serious level, on his laptop, lasting a total of 1 hour 56 minutes.
There were two Category A videos, lasting 41 seconds, on his IPhone, and 56 Cat A videos on the iCloud that ran for 9 hours 22 minutes.
Tottingham, from Luton, appeared for sentence having pleaded guilty to three charges of downloading indecent images of children.
He told a probation officer he had been sent the images, was horrified by them and did not look at them.
Mr Sedgwick said: “The crown does not accept that. The sheer quantity of the videos is not consistent with that statement.”
Defending, Ronnie Bergenthal said Tottingham had been studying for a psychology degree at Bedfordshire University, but had been unable to continue following his arrest. He said he had been talking to a woman on the internet and was sent images.
“He accepts he should have informed the authorities,” he said. Mr Bergenthal said his client, who has poor health, maintained he had no sexual interest in children.
He said he had no relevant previous convictions and had been recovering from a long-standing heroin addiction.
Judge John Lodge told him: “Every image is of a child being abused somewhere in the world.” He sentenced him to 12 months in jail suspended for 18 months. He must complete 30 days rehabilitation.
The jury warned him: “Any further offending in the next 18 months and you start with 12 months in prison.”
Tottingham must register as a sex offender and abide by the terms of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for 10 years.
