Paedophile Andris Dozbergs told police he had no idea who had sent him hundreds of photos of ‘half naked’ children, a court heard.
Dozbergs insisted he did nothing with them, and they remained on his phone.
But he later admitted three counts of making indecent images of children, one count of possessing prohibited images of children and one count of possessing a prohibited weapon.
He was jailed for a year and a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) was put in place for 10 years to monitor any future offending.
Dozbergs, 56, came to the attention of police after they were alerted that an account on Facebook had uploaded indecent images of a child to the social media platform.
Officers visited his home in Dogsthorpe Road, Peterborough, in May last year and initially he refused to let them in.
However, he eventually complied, and a search of his home uncovered two phones and a laptop, together with a can of pepper spray.
He was arrested on suspicion of making indecent images but in police interview, denied having a sexual interest in children.
He claimed strangers had sent him “half naked” images of children, which he did nothing with, and had just remained in his phone.
Dozbergs admitted buying the can of spray in Latvia two years previously for his self-defence – claiming he thought it was pepper and tear gas mixed together.
He was released on bail but arrested again after police visited his home a second time and found more images on further devices.
The electronic devices were found to contain a total of 1,053 indecent images: 419 category C, 371 category B and 263 category A – the most severe.
Dozbergs pleaded guilty to the offences at Cambridge Crown Court in July and was sentenced at Peterborough Crown Court on Friday (25 August).
DC Anoeska Langford, from the force’s Paedophile Online Investigation Team (POLIT), said: “We will do everything in our power to protect children from predators who think they can hide behind their devices.
“A child is victimised when an indecent image is taken and every time it is viewed or shared. Protecting young people from harm is one of our top priorities and we have specially trained officers who are there to support victims and bring offenders to justice.”
