A convicted sex offender who downloaded indecent images of children tried to hide evidence in a golf bag.
But determined police discovered the hidden hard drive when they went back to Paul Baker’s home after it was found to be missing from a laptop seized from the address the previous day.
They had also found images on a series of disks hidden in his car.
The searches came after Baker was arrested when detectives received intelligence that he had breached a court order by downloading the images from the internet.
Further investigation of the hidden drive revealed evidence of specialist software designed to wipe browsing history – a direct contravention of a previous sexual harm prevention order granted by the courts.
In total officers found a total of around 1,000 indecent images of young boys.
Baker, formerly of Newstead Drive, West Bridgford, pleaded guilty to breaching the terms of his sexual harm prevention order, two counts of making indecent images of children, two of possessing indecent images of children and one of distributing indecent images of children.
Appearing at Nottingham Crown Court on Thursday he was jailed for two years and four months.
The 43-year-old was originally convicted and jailed in 2012 for sexually assaulting a boy under the age of 13.
He was jailed again 2017 for making indecent images of children and for breaking the terms an indefinite sexual harm prevention order that tightly restricts his behaviour on and off line.
Police Staff Investigator Nicola Shaw, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “Baker is repeat and unrepentant offender who showed a brazen disregard for a court order designed to regulate his behaviour and help keep vulnerable people safe.
“These orders are put in place for a very good reason and it is right that there are severe consequences for offenders who choose to breach them. By downloading specialist software to erase his browsing history and removing his hard drive it was clear that he was trying to hide what he was doing from the police.
“I am pleased that he has now received a significant jail sentence and hope this case serves as a reminder to other people who are subject to such orders. If you breach them we will find out and you will be punished.”
