Brenden Wyer

An 18-year-old has avoided a prison sentence after being found in possession of more than 450 indecent images of children, including photos of babies.

Brenden Wyer, of Simpson Street, appeared before Burnley Crown Court, sitting at Burnley Magistrates' Court, where he was handed a three-year community order.

The court heard that Wyer was arrested in June 2022 after child protection services launched an investigation and his mother invited officers into their home. Wyer, who had only just turned 17 at the time of his arrest, had 461 still and moving sexual images of children on his mobile phone and laptop. Some of the victims in the files were as young as six months old. Officers also uncovered images depicting bestiality.

Wyer pleaded guilty to three counts of making an indecent photograph of a child and one count of possessing an extreme pornographic image portraying an act of intercourse with an animal.

In mitigation, defense barrister Mark Stephenson stated that Wyer is autistic and was very young when the offenses took place. Stephenson explained that Wyer's autism affects his emotional processing, and he had claimed he searched for the material "to incite emotions like other people are able to feel."

The defense also noted that Wyer's mother is terminally ill with only weeks or months to live, and Wyer feared she would pass away while he was in custody. It was also argued that his autism would cause him additional difficulties in a prison environment. While Wyer had no previous criminal convictions, the court heard he had received a police caution in 2021 for engaging in sexual activity with a 12-year-old child when he was 16.

In finalizing the sentence, Judge Daniel Prowse imposed a three-year community order with 20 days of rehabilitation activities, alongside a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO).

Addressing the defendant, Judge Prowse said: "By looking at these images, you create a market for real men to rape real children. You had some of the most serious images for this offence."

However, the judge added: "I agree with the Probation Service who say that your best chance of rehabilitation, with your learning difficulties and the fact your mother is very ill, is by working with them in the community, and not in custody."