A UNIVERSITY student who accessed indecent images has been spared a custodial sentence.

Alexander Lees, 22, downloaded and stored hundreds of child abuse images over an 11-month period.

Bournemouth Crown Court heard the aspiring academic, who is a modern history and politics student, had taken major steps of his own accord to address his offending behaviour.

He was in the dock on February 4 for sentencing having previously pleaded guilty to four counts of making indecent images of children.

Lees was handed a three-year community order, with a requirement to attend a sexual offending programme and 10 rehabilitation activity requirement days.

Judge Jonathan Fuller QC said: "You were to put it shortly in a bad place at a bad time of your life but you gave into the temptation to ameliorate the position by going into this area of the internet where you could access appalling images."

Prosecuting, Stuart Ellacott said police were alerted that the defendant's email and IP address were used to access indecent images of children.

Officers attend an address in Swanage where the defendant was living at the time and seized various computer and internet capable devices.

Following an analysis of the equipment, officers located a total of 469 still and moving images.

This included 50 category A – the most serious – still images and three category A videos. There were also 85 category B images and 328 category C images.

Mr Ellacott said the images contained male and female children aged between three and 14 years old.

The court heard the files found by police were cached versions of the material rather than the actual photographs.

Ayanna Nelson, mitigating, said when police attended Lees' address the app he had used to access and store the images had been deleted, as had the images themself.

The barrister said this showed the defendant had made a "concerted decision" to turn away from his offending.

She said shortly after his arrest Lees, now of Broadlands Road, Southampton, engaged in the Safer Lives programme, a service that assists people in achieving and maintaining safe sexual behaviour.

He also has weekly counselling and is supported by his family.

Ms Nelson said there were several contributing factors to the criminality, including trauma in his childhood, struggles to come to terms with his sexuality and periods of depression.

She described as a "cry for help" the offending behaviour, adding: "He is now receiving that help."

The barrister said the defendant had said: "I hope to one day be worthy of the forgiveness of the people I have wronged."

The judge issued a destruction order in relation to the equipment seized.

Lees received a sexual harm prevention order and given sex offenders register requirements for five years.

"You have taken steps to address you offending," said Judge Fuller QC.

He added: "You have a good future ahead of you and I hope that when the term of supervision is over this will very much be something that is in the past and you can move forward."