A SCHOOL minibus driver is behind bars after downloading more than 100 child abuse images on his computer.

Father-of-five Norman Hersey, 58, was handed a two-year prison sentence – just a week after Bournemouth council official Robert Ian Finlay walked free from court for downloading 600 indecent images.

Judge Roger Jarvis, sitting at Bournemouth Crown Court, told Hersey that the courts need to “send out a message” that such offences require an immediate prison sentence.

Anita Gibson-Lee told the court that police were called to Hersey’s Bournemouth home in January last year after the Child Exploitation Online Protection Centre discovered indecent images had been downloaded to his computer.

His computer was seized and police found 109 child abuse images and videos – some of which were the most serious, and showed adults sexually abusing children.

They also discovered Hersey had sent a number of these indecent images to a 17-year-old girl on Windows Live Messenger.

Hersey pleaded guilty at a previous hearing to 20 counts of making indecent images and one of distributing.

Miss Gibson-Lee said Hersey worked as a school minibus driver in Bournemouth at the time of the offences and had lost his job when they came to light.

He was also “hounded” out of Bournemouth and now lives in Sandhurst.

Nicholas Robinson, mitigating, told the court that Hersey had personality difficulties and had never been in trouble before.

He said the convictions would have an impact on his relationship with his five children.

Judge Jarvis jailed Hersey for two years and also made a Sexual Offences Prevention Order against him. Hersey will also have to sign on to the Sex Offenders Register.

What the judge told Hersey...

“There are any number of young children being vilely abused so that people like you can sit in front of your computer and view these images.

“The more people there are sitting and viewing these images, the more likely it is that more young children will be abused to satisfy that demand.

“You really must reflect upon the impact on the lives of these children.

“Their lives have been ruined. They have been corrupted by what has gone on. The court must send out a message so if anyone else is tempted to follow in your footsteps they would resist for fear of what is going to happen to them.”