A PAEDOPHILE pensioner made sure he had a USB drive containing sickening images of children being sexually abused in his pocket 'all the time'.

Darryl Walters was previously spared jail after being caught with more than 50,000 depraved images.

But the 75-year-old, of Penketh, has been hauled back before the courts and jailed for reoffending – and he now admits he has a disgusting and unhealthy problem.

Cheshire Police refused to release a custody photo of the defendant.

The defendant was jailed at Liverpool Crown Court yesterday, Wednesday, on charges of possessing indecent images of children (IIOC), making IIOC and breach of a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO).

The hearing began with defence counsel Simran Garcha seeking an adjournment for the court to acquire her client’s medical records, with Walters said to be in ‘poor physical and mental health’.

However, judge Stuart Driver rejected this plea and said the court would take both factors into account when passing sentence.

Detailing the nature of the offending, prosecutor Paul Blasbery told the court that on January 23, 2022, at around 1pm, police attended Walter’s Meeting Lane home to carry out a routine check.

This is as per the terms of his SHPO imposed by Liverpool Crown Court back in April 2020 alongside a community order after he was caught with more than 50,000 depraved images of children being sexually abused – his sole previous conviction.

Officers looked at his mobile phone and found he had taken photos of two A4 printed photographs of young girls, aged between seven and 10 and ‘scantily dressed in swimwear and underwear’.

On these print-outs he had handwritten vile and vulgar sexual statements of what he would like to see happen to them.

Police seized the phone, along with a laptop, disk drive and USB, which the defendant retrieved from his pocket and told officers contained IIOC, as well as how he carried it around with him ‘all the time’.

A further search of his home found pieces of paper containing websites and search terms indicative of his offending, as well as the password for a VPN.

This was used to disguise his activity online, placing him in breach of his SHPO which prohibited him from hiding his internet history.

Walters was arrested and interviewed, where he told officers he normally searched for IIOC ‘every day’, used the VPN to hide his online activity and that IIOC would be found on all devices seized.

These devices were sent for a forensic analysis, and this revealed the presence of 649 IIOC, of which 180 were readily available for him to view and graded at category C – the least severe of three categories.

The defendant also admitted using his wardrobe to hide evidence of his criminality from his wife – who, despite knowing his criminality, ‘remains supportive of him’ and attended court with him, but remained outside of the courtroom due to being ‘fearful’ of the hearing outcome.

Walters admitted receiving sexual gratification from the material and that his sexual preference was young girls aged between seven and 10.

Mitigating on behalf of her client, Simran Garcha said that his ‘finest’ piece of mitigation was his guilty pleas at the first opportunity.

She said he is ‘mortified’ to be back before the court, ‘despises putting his wife through such turmoil again’ and is ‘profoundly remorseful’.

Since the offending, he has sought help from the Lucy Faithfull Foundation – a charity dedicated to preventing child sexual abuse – and a psychotherapist for help with ‘some sort of compulsion disorder’.

Ms Garcha referenced Walter’s poor health, including a recently fitted pacemaker, his struggles with mobility, memory and hearing, remission for lymphoma which required chemotherapy, and his ‘battles with mental health’.

He has been ‘overwhelmed with anxiety’ with this case ‘hanging over him’ for the past two years since his arrest.

She urged the court to suspend the custodial sentence to allow him to receive ‘help and rehabilitation’, but this call fell on deaf ears with Judge Driver.

He said: “Appropriate punishment can only be achieved by immediate custody,” and sentenced Walters to 12 months immediate imprisonment.

He was also handed a new SHPO for 10 years, during which time he must also re-sign the sex offender register.

In addition, the court approved orders for the forfeiture and destruction of the USB and disk drive, and to deprive the defendant of his mobile phone and tablet.