Mansfield pervert downloaded images of children as young as six being raped
A Mansfield pervert who downloaded indecent pictures of children as young as six being raped, along with extreme bestiality porn, has been ordered to confront what motivated his offending, a court has heard.
Analysis of Damien Regan’s devices revealed he had 11 category A images, 25 category B images, and 417 category C images, along with one prohibited image of a child, and 33 extreme pornographic images of animals.
Louise Howard, prosecuting, told Nottingham Crown Court some of the images featured the rape of children as young as six years old.
Police found he had used search terms including “under age,” “child love,” and “pre-teen,” and the material was accessed between April 2018 and February 2024.
Regan, aged 63, deleted some of the images and his use of a Tor browser “indicated he knew what he was doing was wrong and took steps to conceal his activity”.
The offences are aggravated by the period of time, the amount of images, and the age of the children depicted, with some as young as one-year-old, Ms Howard added.
Chris Brewin, mitigating, said Regan, of previous good character, is a suitable case for rehabilitation.
"It is not uncommon to read reports with minimisation," he said. “He has been married for years and years. There have been difficulties within that relationship which is now rekindled."
He said Regan held a “public sector job with a great deal of responsibility” and suffers from "quite serious health issues".
Regan, of St Leonard’s Way, Forest Town, Mansfield, admitted all five charges at a previous hearing.
On Tuesday, Recorder Adrian Reynolds told him: “It is not unusual for defendants to come to court without accepting their true motivation.
“Very often it is men like you, who for some reason became addicted to looking at this sort of filth on the internet.
“These children are being abused. Somehow people like you have the ability to distance yourself from what's happening. Those children are real and their lives are being damaged.
“You have been promoting and encouraging the abuse of children. If that causes you to feel ashamed of yourself, then so much the better.”
Regan received an eight-month sentence, suspended for two years, with 20 rehabilitation days. He was placed on the sex offenders register for ten years.