by Paul Hooper

Devious Daniel Dowdon kept a vile secret from the Kent data company that had offered him a computer engineering job.

The Ash dad-of-four was asked in his job application to reveal any previous convictions... and he declared one for a public order offence.

But the 46-year-old was in fact a convicted child sex offender, who had served a jail sentence for trying to recruit a 12-year-old girl over the internet.

And a judge heard the company that offered him the post - Ramsgate-based Coastal Data Systems - also carried out work at schools.

Divorced Dowdon, of The Street, was later promoted and given a company laptop to carry out his duties, Canterbury Crown Court heard.

Instead, the pervert used the computer to access more disgusting sex images of children – some of children as young as two.

The paedophile's secret vice was only discovered when a company IT specialist accessed the laptop remotely – and came across the sick stash of more than 7,500 images, up to the worst level five.

Now Dowdon - who admitted nine offences of downloading and distributing illegal images, possessing extreme pornographic images, breaching the SOPO and fraud - has been given a two-year jail sentence, suspended for two years.

Prosecutor Jim Harvey revealed how in 2009 Dowdon had been convicted of downloading and distributing illegal images of children – again using work computers.

He was made subject to an indefinite Sexual Offences Prevention Order, which banned him from using equipment to access the internet other than for work.

"most right-minded people will find it hard to understand why the father of four children could possibly enjoy looking at images of the abuse of children..." – recorder bobbie cheema qc

Mr Harvey said five years ago Dowdon had worked for European Interior Technologies, based in Dartford, when computer engineers had discovered images on his computer – most of the victims aged between five and 12.

"That coincided with a covert internet police investigation where Dowdon said in a chatroom that he wanted to meet and abuse a 12-year-old female."

Mr Harvey said despite being questioned by police, he went on to download even more images and was jailed for seven months.

After his release, Dowdon moved to Ash and in July 2009 he successfully applied for a job as a data engineer with Coastal Data Systems.

"His application form disclosed a fictional conviction in April 2008 for an offence of disorderly conduct – but he failed to disclose his convictions for possessing and distributing illegal child images," Mr Harvey said.

He added: "The company's managing director made it quite clear that had those convictions been disclosed he would never have been employed by them because part of that company's work involved attending schools where they would be conducting work on data and computer systems without any supervision."

He said there was no evidence Dowdon had actually gone to any schools, but in April last year he was promoted and given a laptop.

But after the IT support specialist discovered the images, the managing director reported Dowdon's activities to police.

Daniel Dowdon was sentenced at Canterbury Crown Court

He was arrested and admitted he had been accessing internet chatrooms to get and offer images for 14 months.

Phil Rowley, defending, said that - unlike the 2009 case - Dowdon now accepted he had an attraction to young children and had sought help.

"He accepts that this behaviour is abhorrent and the court's primary responsibility is to punish him for that."

The judge, Recorder Bobbie Cheema QC, said he had taken "little time" from receiving the office laptop on his promotion to returning to downloading disgusting images.

"Most right-minded people will find it hard to understand why the father of four children could possibly enjoy looking at images of the abuse of children, which you have habitually admitted looking at."

During a two year-supervision order, Downdon will also have to undergo treatment for his child sex addiction.