A Peel man caught with eight indecent images of children has been handed a suspended sentence and put on the Sex Offenders Register for seven years.

Gilno Kerron Carswell admitted three counts of the offence and was also made the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, which places internet restrictions on him.

Deputy High Bailiff Rachael Braidwood sentenced him to 16 weeks’ custody, suspended for two years, and put him under a supervision order for two years.

We previously reported that an IP address linked to Carswell had come to the attention of the police, as it was said to have been involved in searching for indecent images of children.

Carswell, who is 42 and lives at Douglas Street, was arrested and devices were seized.

Analysis of the devices showed a search history over many years with specific searches, such as ‘school girls’.

The offences were said to have been committed between 2004 and 2023.

The images found were categorised using the Copine Scale, which assesses the severity of images from one to five, with five being the most severe level.

Seven images were categorised as level one and one at level two.

However, it was said that more images were found of 16 and 17-year-olds, which were not considered illegal, as the age limit under the old sexual offences legislation, when these offences were committed, was 16.

However, under the new sexual offences legislation, the age limit has been raised to 18, so those images would have been considered illegal had Carswell committed the offences now.

Ms Braidwood said that this was considered an aggravating factor.

Carswell denied having a sexual interest in children but admitted an interest in teens.

Defence advocate Paul Glover asked for credit to be given for the guilty pleas, and said that the offences had been hanging over his client since October 2023.

Mr Glover said that the images were of a relatively low level, and referred to a probation report, which he said detailed deeply personal matters regarding the defendant, which he would not air in open court.

The advocate said that Carswell was clearly in need of support to address issues.

Mr Glover asked the court to suspend any sentence, saying that the grounds were the guilty pleas, the lack of previous convictions, and the relatively low level of images.

Deputy High Bailiff Ms Braidwood told Carswell: ‘These are not just photos. Each indecent image constitutes abuse of a child.’

She said that, in deciding to suspend the sentence, she had taken into account the low level of the images, the guilty pleas, Carswell’s remorse, and the fact that he had no previous convictions.

He must also pay £125 prosecution costs.