A Stansted man who had a library of more than 400 indecent videos of children has been jailed.
Warren Grodent, age 42, of Cambridge Road, Stansted, was sentenced to two years and four months at Chelmsford Crown Court on Thursday, February 10.
Grodent previously admitted to nine offences in October.
He admitted to three counts of making indecent images of children. He also admitted to three further counts of possessing to show or distribute indecent images of a child, two counts of distributing an indecent image of a child, and possession of a class A drug.
As well as a prison sentence, he has been put on the Sex Offenders' Register for 10 years, and is subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for 10 years.
Essex Police investigated Grodent after detectives received information that an IP address in Stansted had been used to access indecent images of children.
Officers for the Essex's Police Online Investigation Team (POLIT) searched his home on June 24, 2020.
When they looked at his electronic devices, officers found more than 400 videos and dozens of images of children.
Detective Sergeant Samantha Lewin from POLIT said: "Warren Grodent had a library of child abuse – images and videos which are truly sickening.
"Every image and video represents a child being exploited and we cannot tolerate people putting children at risk.
"He now faces the foreseeable future behind bars."
Essex's POLIT announced that it had safeguarded 303 children and made 133 arrests in 2021.
Team lead, Temporary Detective Inspector Jim Adams, said that children and adults are spending more time on the internet, leading to more opportunities for sexual predators to exploit.
He said: "My team of dedicated officers work hard to ensure those people are identified and not able to pose a threat to children.
"It’s not an easy job but it is incredibly important."
POLIT said there is help available for people who are concerned about their own behaviour online - from the Lucy Faithfull Foundation at https://www.lucyfaithfull.org.uk/ or StopSo at https://stopso.org.uk/
Advice for children and parents is also online: https://www.ceop.police.uk/
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