AN NHS boss escaped going straight to prison after downloading thousands of “sick and depraved” cartoons of children being sexually abused and extreme animal pornography.
Richard Cahn, 56, of Hayes Road, Sully, was caught after his wife saw the vile films and images stored on his home computer.
Alex Greenwood, prosecuting, told Cardiff Crown Court: “On October 21, she contacted South Wales Police after going through her husband’s computer and finding the images stored in around 100 folders. She was upset.
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“There were cartoons involving children having sex with adults and of adults having sex with animals.
“The defendant was said to have an obsession with sexual activity involving animals and was using forums to engage with like-minded people.”
Cahn, who says he is assistant director of IT with the NHS on his LinkedIn page, admitted possessing a prohibited image of a child and possessing extreme animal pornography.
The defendant had no previous convictions.
Robin Shellard, mitigating, said: “This is a peculiar case. Courts often deal with cases where the abuse of children is real and leads to more abuse of children.”
This, he stressed, where the images were “pseudo” ones, was not one of those cases.
Mr Shellard added: “The defendant is a complex and complicated man with a complex and complicated background.
“He says he has no sexual interest in children.”
The judge, Recorder Greg Bull QC, told the barrister: “Your client needs help.”
The court heard Cahn was an “experienced IT operator with a good source of income” and took home £4,200 a month.
Recorder Bull told the defendant: “You had more than 2,000 images of one sort of another that were sick and depraved.
“You have deep rooted problems and you have tried to seek help in the past.”
Cahn was jailed for eight months, suspended for two years, and was ordered to complete a 30-day rehabilitation activity requirement.
He was ordered to pay £1,000 fine, £460 costs and a £149 victim surcharge.
The nature of the case means Cahn is exempt from sex offenders’ register provisions.
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