IT’S beyond comprehension, certainly to the family involved. When a Dorset man who abused his young stepdaughter was sent to jail for nine years in December, the girl and her mother imagined they could begin rebuilding their lives.

They did not anticipate having to fight to prevent photos of the victim and sister being returned to their former stepfather – a man described as warped and dangerous by a judge.

The police say they are powerless under the law to either hold back the pictures or destroy them. This is an appalling situation that cannot be allowed to stand. The family has suffered enough.