A man caught with indecent images and ‘animal porn’ was said to have been introduced to pornography by his boarding school roommate.

Nicholas Bull, 25, had amassed the collection over seven years between 2015 and 2022, claiming to have looked at the images ‘during periods of depression’.

Prosecutor Alastair Yapp told Oxford Magistrates’ Court that police visited the defendant’s home on July 12 last year, acting on a tip-off from the National Crime Agency.

Officers arrested Bull and seized four digital devices, all of which were said to have contained indecent images of children.

Interviewed by the police, he said he had been ‘introduced at boarding school by his roommate, started to view adult pornography and progressed’ into looking at images of children.

He accepted the indecent images and extreme pornography were for his own sexual gratification. He had downloaded the material from the Dark Web, using a TOR browser.

Appearing before the magistrates’ court on Tuesday (February 14), Bull, of Pixey Close, Yarnton, pleaded guilty to possession of 431 indecent ‘pseudo-photographs’ of children in category A, 86 in category B and 730 in category C, as well as 20 extreme pornographic images showing people having sex with animals.

He was bailed to appear before Oxford Crown Court on March 16 for sentence.

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This story was written by Tom Seaward. He joined the team in 2021 as Oxfordshire's court and crime reporter.  

To get in touch with him email: Tom.Seaward@newsquest.co.uk

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