A SOUTHAMPTON dad has been jailed for making and sending “highly disturbing” images of children.

Southampton Crown Court heard how Graham Andrew Davis used different aliases to chat to people online - and posed as a teenager himself.

Defending, Andrew Houston also told the court how Davis had watched porn since the age of 13.

He added that he had been encouraged by others to expose himself online at the age of 13 - but that he hadn’t done so because he didn’t have a webcam.

The court heard how Davis had posed as a 15-year-old while chatting to others on the internet.

On one occasion he had sent images of a child which he pretended were of himself, Judge Peter Henry was told

Davis, of Golden Grove, pleaded guilty to making 17 still images and one moving image, making still images.

The 28-year-old was described as of “good character” and had no previous convictions.

The court heard that he has “accepted that he needs help,” and that he knew his behaviour was “disgusting and hurtful”.

But the court also heard that he “doesn’t understand how children are abused in the making of these images” - or that they are being “sexually abused in or for the market”.

He was sentenced to 20 months in jail for making category A images and distributing category B images.

Davis cried as he was handed the sentence and led from the dock.

Addressing Davis, Judge Henry said: “Quite clearly you were sending images of very young children pretending that you were at a very young age and the chats are entirely sexual - what you would like to have done to you as a child and what this man would like to do to a child.”