A WREXHAM man’s ‘vile’ search terms on a laptop he intended to gift to his mum has led to him being jailed.

Peter Smith, of Philips Road in Gwersyllt, was handed a year-long prison sentence following a hearing at Mold Crown Court after he admitted to breaching his sexual harm prevention order.

The prosecution, Myles Wilson, told the court how Smith was made subject to the order by Mold Crown Court in February 2016 monitoring Smith’s internet use.

The 40-year-old was brought before the court yesterday, after officers came to his home address in Wrexham on September 5 last year as part of a routine visit to carry out these checks.

The prosecution says that one of the attending officers was asked by Smith if they could check his laptop as he told them he wanted to wipe the system and be able to give the device to his mum.

It was said in court that the officer looked at the laptop – at Smith’s own request – and uncovered files that would breach his order.

Upon further examination by police, it was found that Smith’s laptop contained software that including an anonymised web browser to mask his internet history and file sharing software that did not require a central server.

The search did not uncover any illegal images of child abuse – but it did uncover that Smith made various search terms described as ‘concerning’ in the report read aloud to the judge.

When interviewed by police, Smith claims he had never received a hard copy of his sexual harm prevention order and was unaware of these restrictions over him.

Asked about the software, he claimed they were intended to be used for downloading films quickly and for gaming.

Smith has previous three previous convictions to his name for possessing indecent images of children, the court was told.

The defence, Cath Jagger, argued that her best point of mitigation is her client’s guilty plea being entered as early as it was.

She went on to tell the judge that he has regular visits and has been checked upon regularly for the last year by officers who picked up on no further offending until this breach.

The defence added that, throughout proceedings, Smith has openly asked for ‘more help’ and appeared ‘motivated’ to change.

Judge Nicola Jones blasted Smith’s claims that he was not clear of the order’s terms as ‘pathetic’ as orders are read aloud in court when being made and also that he would be aware of what officers would look for in their visits.

She said: “Every single sentence you get does not seem to deter you from offending. Here we are years on from when the sexual harm prevention order was imposed and you’re breaching it with those very vile search terms found.

“I have considered your pleas and cooperation with police – and the fact you suffer with mental health difficulties.”