A MAN who encouraged a 13-year-old boy to carry out a sex act on himself after contacting him online has walked free from court.

Christopher Clarke, whose brother-in-law is a policeman, was communicating with the child via the online video call system, Skype, when he told him to carry out the act on himself.

And the 48-year-old also had thousands of indecent images of children on his computer when he was arrested two years ago.

But after saying any jail term he passed would be too short for him to get any help for his problems, a judge at Swindon Crown Court imposed a suspended sentence.

Claire Marlow, prosecuting, said police raided the defendant's home in June 2012 following a tip off from the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre.

She said they arrested him and spoke to him about the downloading of images from his address of child abuse.

When they examined his computer they found 2,452 indecent photographs and movies of children.

Miss Marlow said officers also found a number of chat profiles and hotmail accounts which Clarke had used.

“He was in contact with a user, whose name I'll not give, but that user states he is 13 years of age. There is a conversation between them,” she said.

The court heard he asked the boy about how developed he was and then told him to touch himself inappropriately on camera.

Clarke, of Pheasant Close, Dorcan, admitted attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity, 10 counts of making and one possessing indecent images of a child.

Robin Shellard, defending, said his client had worked in IT and as a result of the convictions was now ‘unemployable’.

He said his client was a very fragile man who had shown a great degree of self-loathing over what he had done.

Since he was found out he said Clarke had been treated in a hospital mental health unit.

Giving evidence, his younger sister, Gillian, told the court her brother had been very isolated and would not talk about what he had done.

She said after her husband, a police officer, told her he had been arrested she went to see him but he would not let her in.

“He was sectioned a few months ago as he was seriously thinking of harming himself. He had a rope in his attic, he was looking to hang himself.”

Passing sentence, Recorder Ian Lawrie QC, said: “The report displays a rather tortured soul, shows social inadequacies. Indeed you have had serious issues over relationships with women.”

He imposed an 18-month jail term suspended for two years and told him to complete a sex offenders programme.

The judge also imposed a ten-year sexual offences prevention and ordered that he be registered as a sex offender.