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Former publisher admits fresh child porn charges

A former local newspaper publisher who developed an obsession with child pornography went back to his old ways within days of being released from jail, a court heard.

Kevin Skaith, who published independent title the Lincolnshire Gazette was released on licence in March 2007, having been previously jailed for possession of child porn.

But he was arrested again six weeks later after police were tipped off about his activities and raided his home.

Analysis of his computer and CD-roms found in the property showed he began looking at indecent images again in the same month as he was released, the Lincolnshire Echo reports.

Andrew Scott, prosecuting, told Lincoln Crown Court that during the raid officers discovered a CD-rom loaded into a DVD player attached to Skaith’s television.

The disc was examined and found to contain 1,166 indecent images of children.

Skaith described the images as “old stuff” but the search revealed a stash of CD-roms hidden behind a kick board in the bedroom.

Officers eventually recovered 119,688 indecent images of children from Skaith’s bedroom.

Skaith, who has since been returned to Whatton Prison to continue his original sentence, pleaded guilty to possession of 119,688 child porn images on 27 April 2007.

He also admitted nine charges of making indecent photographs of children between 18 April 2005 and 22 April 2007.

Giles Bedloe, in mitigation, said: “This is clearly a man who has a problem and an obsession. It is an addiction which needs addressing.”

Skaith was remanded in custody by Judge Ebrahim Mooncey and will be sentenced later at Birmingham Crown Court.