Ex-Tory campaigner sentenced over child images

Image copyright Press Association Image caption More than 200 of Mark Lerigo’s images were of the most serious kind, the court heard

A former Conservative Party campaign manager has been given a suspended jail sentence for a raft of offences relating to indecent images of children.

Mark Lerigo, 49, of Coventry, was given a two-year jail term, suspended for two years, at Warwick Crown Court.

Lerigo, who pleaded guilty to eight charges, had downloaded “dreadful” material, the court heard.

A Conservative Party spokesperson said he had been “dismissed from the party”.

The offences related to more than 1,500 images, of which 205 were rated as the most serious category, the National Crime Agency said.

Passing sentence on Friday, recorder Martin Butterworth told Lerigo: “I have to sentence you for downloading dreadful images of children, of children being abused, and downloading other unlawful sexual images.

“Any consumer of this dreadful material causes others to make it.”

Image copyright National Crime Agency Image caption Mark Lerigo has been dismissed from the Conservative Party

Lerigo admitted two counts of distributing indecent images of children, three counts of making indecent images of children, one count of possessing extreme pornography involving animals, one of possessing prohibited images of children and one of publishing an obscene article.

According to a Linkedin profile, Lerigo had been a Conservative Party campaign manager since 2012, and a digital campaign manager for the party since 2013.

Addressing his former role, Mr Butterworth said: “You held a senior post in a political party. You are now disgraced, your reputation destroyed.”

He said although the defendant was “not entitled to sympathy”, he had demonstrated “remorse and shame”.

Mr Butterworth said having considered the best way to protect the public, the way to offer the help Lerigo sought was via a community order.

Lerigo was ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work and told he was not judged to be a high risk to children.

He was also made the subject of a 40-day rehabilitation activity requirement, a four-month curfew and 10-year sexual harm prevention order.

The NSPCC said children in the images had been “subjected to unthinkable pain and suffering”.

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