A man who was in possession of hundreds of indecent images of children, but who is “truly remorseful” and “sorry for what he has done” has avoided jail.

Daniel Impett, 37, of Fleet was arrested for a number of offences in relation to possession and distribution of indecent images of minors and possession of extremely pornographic images of animals between October 2018 and October 2022 in Basingstoke.

He had pleaded guilty to the charges at Basingstoke on October 10.

In total, he was charged with seven counts. These include possession of 384 Category A moving images, 323 Category A still images, 119 Category B moving images, 139 Category B still images, 49 Category C moving images and 21 Category C still images, distribution of nine Category A images, and distribution of two Category B images.

After his arrest on October 6, 2022, Impett was also charged with possession of 29 extreme pornographic images of animals, and eight prohibited images of children.

Prosecuting, Rachel Standish said the defendant voluntarily provided the pins and passwords of his phones when arrested.

“He was interviewed without legal representation. He was remorseful and apologetic. He said he used an online platform to see these images and got a rush when seeing them. He described him as a monster in his own head and he suffered with his mental health.

“He also said he was glad that police had attended as he was worried that it would take over his life. The age range of the images were between two and 14.”

Impett had no previous convictions or cautions.

In mitigation, defence counsel Ned Sillitt said Impett was a man of previous good character.

“He was very honest. He had a very negative view of himself since a young age. He carried a level of self-hatred. In his mind, seeing this awful content, showed him that there were people worse than him.

“He has struggled from a young age. His father left when he was five or six. He was brought up by his mum who sadly passed away in 2018 – and that was the start of the offending period. He was bullied in school. He was signed off from work due to poor mental health.

“But he does want to help himself. He doesn’t want to have suicidal ideations anymore. He doesn’t want to get into a position like this again. He is taking therapy which is a demonstration of his commitment. He says it’s best bit of hope he has had in a long time. It really has made a difference. He is sorry for what he has done.”

Sentencing him at Winchester Crown Court on Friday, November 29, judge Timothy Dugdale said he believes there is a realistic prospect of rehabilitation.

He Impett was sentenced to two years in prison, but it was reduced to 16 months for his guilty plea. The sentence has been suspended for two years, but he will be placed in a sexual harm prevention order for 10 years.

He will have to complete an accredited programme and attend 10 rehabilitation activities. The judge also ordered for the forfeiture and destruction of the mobile devices.