A 'FRUSTRATED' judge has met with Dorset's top police officer over delays cases involving paedophiles who download images of child abuse.

Judge Brian Forster QC spoke out about the issue during the sentencing hearing of a Christchurch man who waited almost more than a year and a half for the case to be heard – despite admitting to police straight away he had committed the crime.

Officers raided the Douglas Avenue home of Mark Jones, 48, in April 2018. His laptop and a computer tower were seized.

However, he wasn't interviewed until September 2019, more than a year later. He told officers the images were his and was then charged.

On his first appearance at a magistrates' court on December 20 last year, Jones formally admitted three counts of making indecent images of children – including 51 in category A, the most serious – as well as a fourth count of possessing 138 extreme pornographic images.

He appeared at Bournemouth Crown Court to be sentenced last week.

Simon Jones, prosecuting, noted the "big difference" in the dates between when Jones was arrested, and when he was finally brought to court.

Judge Forster said he has already discussed the issue with Chief Constable James Vaughan of Dorset Police.

“I have had a meeting with the chief constable to express my frustration," he said.

However, he acknowledged that the problem appears to be the increasing amount of space available on both phones and personal laptops.

"There has been a growth in the use of phone [and computer] storage capacity," he said.

“I think it’s a long-term resources issue.”

Mark Florida-James, mitigating for Jones, said the defendant is isolated.

"He needs to get himself a hobby where he meets people in a social environment," he said.

Judge Forster said Jones is by his own admission "obsessive".

"You must understand that everyone takes a serious view of this type of offending. There are real victims involved in many of these cases," he told the defendant.

"If I sentenced you to a period of imprisonment, you would serve half and be released. Your issues might be worse and certainly you would not have ongoing support."

Jones, who has no previous convictions, was sentenced to a three-year community order with 30 rehabilitation activity requirement days.

He was also made the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for five years, and must notify the police of his sex offender status for the same time period.

A Dorset Police spokesperson said: "A private meeting took place to discuss criminal justice matters involving the Chief Constable, Judge Forster and the chief prosecutor.

"In his role as lead for forensics for the National Police Chiefs’ Council, the chief constable has also played a major role in developing the Forensic Capability Network as part of the Transforming Forensics Programme, which aims to bring about improved capability, productivity, financial savings, greater consistency and resilience on a national scale."