A former supermarket manager from Penzance has avoided immediate imprisonment after admitting offences involving hundreds of indecent images of children.
Stuart Rogers, 53, of Penbrea Road, Penzance, appeared for sentence after pleading guilty to offences including making and distributing indecent photographs of children.
The court heard police seized electronic devices from Rogers' home during a separate investigation and subjected them to forensic examination.
Officers discovered 185 Category A images, the most serious classification, as well as 172 Category B and 219 Category C images.
The court also heard Rogers had distributed two Category A, four Category B and six Category C images.
A prohibited image of a child and 10 extreme pornographic images involving sexual activity with an animal were also found.
The prosecution said some of the material was discovered within the Telegram app.
When interviewed, Rogers admitted looking at indecent images of children online but said he would never physically do anything to a child.
Rogers, who was previously of good character, was described by his barrister as someone who had always worked and had held senior roles in supermarkets.
The defence urged the court not to impose an immediate prison sentence, saying the offending happened during a period when Rogers' life had been "spiralling" following the breakdown of his marriage.
His barrister said Rogers had turned to alcohol and was drinking daily and blacking out before his behaviour escalated into seeking extreme material online.
The court heard Rogers was now in a supportive relationship, had reduced his alcohol consumption and was willing to work with probation.
Sentencing Rogers, the judge stressed the serious harm caused by indecent images of children.
The judge said: "The reason why the guideline is so severe is because of the harm that's done to children in production of these images.
"It's destructive of personal dignity and their psychological health and people like you, because you populate the market, have to bear some responsibility for seriously damaging those highly vulnerable victims."
The judge said the offending was aggravated by the number of images, the presence of moving images and material depicting the sexual abuse of very young and vulnerable children.
He said that after a trial the appropriate sentence would have been 18 months' imprisonment, reduced to 13 months to reflect Rogers' guilty pleas.
The judge said the nature of the offending pointed towards immediate custody, adding: "Anybody who has such a large number of Category A images of sexual abuse should be sent to prison."
However, he said Rogers was capable of rehabilitation, presented a modest risk of contact offending and had personal mitigation.
The judge told him: "I'm just persuaded not to send you immediately to prison."
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Rogers was sentenced to 13 months in prison, suspended for two years, and ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work.
He will also be supervised by probation for the two-year duration of the suspended sentence.
The judge warned Rogers that breaching the order or committing further offences could result in him being sent to prison.
A Sexual Harm Prevention Order was also imposed, with parts of the proposed order relating to contact offending removed and another provision concerning artificial intelligence to be amended.
Rogers was ordered to sign the Sex Offenders Register for 10 years.
The court also dealt with the forfeiture and destruction of the devices containing the images, while Rogers will be required to pay a victim surcharge.
The judge said the remaining counts relating to making indecent images of children could lie on the file.
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