Louth man who possessed 440 extreme pornographic images of animals sentenced to community order

Police seized a phone from Kayne McMillan, 29, of Abbotts Way, after he was arrested for an unrelated matter on November 1, 2019.

Lincoln Crown Court heard the phone was examined and found to contain searches for extreme images of animals.

In total, 440 extreme pornographic images were found on the device, the court was told.

Following a pre-sentence report by the Probation Service it was recommended that McMillan was suitable for a two year community order.

Michael Cranmer-Brown, mitigating for McMillan, urged the court to follow the recommendation by the Probation Service.

Mr Cranmer-Brown said: "Mr McMillan wants to co-operate, and wants help."

Passing sentence, Judge Simon Hirst told McMillan: "Given the passage of time, I feel it is unnecessary to pass a custodial sentence, but plainly it is serious enough to warrant a community order."

McMillan was sentenced to a two year community order and must also complete up to 30 Rehabilitation Activity Requirement days.

He was also made the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

McMillan was cleared of rape charges after a trial at Lincoln Crown Court earlier this year.

An additional charge, accusing him of coercive behaviour, was dropped, with the Crown Prosecution Service offering no evidence.

The offences were alleged to have taken place between February 2015 and October 2019.