A TWICE convicted paedophile hung a laptop from a wire in a pub lift shaft to conceal his predilection for obscene pictures of children. 

The discovery landed Charles Cawley in jail again for his third child sex offence conviction.

Unable to resist temptation but desperate to hide his repeat offending from police, Cawley hatched the plan while a casual worker renovating the space at the Hare and Hounds pub. 

But his secret hideaway in Preston Circus, Brighton, was uncovered when a staff member found the laptop, turned it on to find “appalling scenes of child abuse” and handed it into police in January last year. 

Enquiries eventually led police to Cawley, now 63, who had been living there while he worked. 
When he was arrested officers found he owned two more laptops- despite being subject of a court order prohibiting any in his possession. 

Cawley, of London Road, Brighton, admitted everything and police said there was no evidence of direct offences with children. 

He pleaded guilty to 13 offences of making indecent images of children, two offences of possessing extreme pornographic images, one of possessing a prohibited image of a child, and of possessing three computers in breach of the Sexual Offence Prevention Order. he was given in 2011 when he was last convicted. 

He was sentenced for a third time at Lewes Crown Court on Thursday and will be behind bars for five years - two for having the images and three for breaching the order.

He first appeared in court on November 1, 2010, charged with indecent images offences. He changed his plea to guilty on the first day of trial and was given a year's imprisonment. A key witness in the case said Cawley text him offering him money to withdraw his statement before the hearing, a police spokesman said.

He added: “Cawley was arrested and his flat searched and a further laptop was seized. This was later examined, while Cawley was serving the first prison sentence, and further indecent images were found. 
“His mobile phone was also examined and this confirmed he had been texting the witness.

“So Cawley was then charged with the further set of indecent images offences and with perverting the course of justice.”

Cawley pleaded guilty to the charges and was sentenced to two more years in jail on December 14, 2011 - nine months imprisonment for perverting the course of justice and 15 months for possessing the additional indecent images.

Detective constable Chris Smith, of Sussex Police, said: "Cawley is a repeat offender who is unable to resist the temptation to look at this type of material, accessing images of some of the most appalling scenes of child abuse. We trust this latest sentence, his longest yet, will cause him to reflect, and to seek help.
"All such images are by definition images of child sex abuse, and we will continue to pursue anyone who is suspected of accessing them.”

No-one from the Hare and Hounds pub or Indigo Pub Company has responded to requests for a comment yet.