One child depicted in Isaac Wade’s 200-plus sexual videos and pictures of youngsters appeared to be aged between three and five years old. Others were aged between five and seven years old, said Rachael Landin, prosecuting.
Police had staged a dawn raid on his home on March 28 last year after getting a tip-off about his illegal activities online.
He denied to them that he had a sexual interest in children.
Wade, 19, of Scarcroft Road, York, pleaded guilty to three offences of downloading indecent images of children. York Crown Court heard he told a probation officer he did have a sexual interest in children.
Recorder Andrew Dallas told him: “You were caught with some appalling material on your phone which you were using for your sexual gratification.
“These are rapes of very young children suffering untold harm as a result, obviously, for the rest of their lives. These are not avatars or cartoons, these are real people who are abused.”
The judge said Wade had had a difficult childhood that included him being in care for years.
“Prison is not going to help you, not going to help the public,” he said. The public would be better served by taking measures aimed at preventing Wade from reoffending, he added.
He made Wade subject to an eight-month prison sentence suspended for two years on condition he does 120 hours’ unpaid work, 30 days’ rehabilitative activities and a 43-session rehabilitation course.
Wade will also be on the sex offenders register and subject to a sexual harm prevention order, restricting his access to children, controlling his use of the internet and enabling police to monitor his behaviour. Both orders last for 10 years. He must pay £100 prosecution costs.
Ms Landin said Wade had 81 pictures and 16 videos of the most serious kind of indecent images of children, 77 pictures and four videos of the middle category and 24 pictures and one video of the least serious category.
They had been downloaded between March 2 and March 29 last year and included videos of girls aged between three and five years old and five and seven years being raped.
Police also found software that enabled Wade to search the dark web and to delete or hide evidence of his internet behaviour.
Defence barrister Celine Kart said Wade had no previous convictions. He had shown remorse about his offending, which had happened when he was 18.
He had mental health difficulties, the court heard.
