Former Milton Keynes councillor escapes jail after pleading guilty to child and animal porn charges

John Hawthorn, who is 69, was also placed on the Sex Offender Register for seven years.

Judge Francis Sheridan, suspending his sentence for two years, called him a “despicable excuse for a man.”

Hawthorne had pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing “extreme” pornographic images portraying an act of sex with a dead/alive animal.

He also admitted two counts of making an indecent photograph or pseudo photograph of a child and one count of possessing a prohibited image of a child.

A former Tory councillor for Stony Stratford ward, he resigned from Milton Keynes council shortly after police seized his computer from his Two Mile Ash home in 2014.

He also resigned from Abbey Hill Parish Council, where he was a former chairman.

He had served on the parish council for 13 years.

At the time, Hawthorn gave the reason for his resignations as ill health.

He told police he had clicked on the computer links by accident while doing research for a project.

A father of two and a grandfather, he was also a former college lecturer and specialised in engineering.

His wife was with him at Aylesbury Crown court for the sentencing on Wednesday afternoon.