A PAEDOPHILE who had 76,000 child abuse images got a longer prison sentence for having an old gun.

Tow Liew has been jailed for five years for possessing a prohibited weapon – a pistol made before 1893 with barrel less than 30 centimetres.

This was more than double the concurrent sentence of 16 months he received for having indecent images of girls aged between eight and 13, 425 were of Category A, the most serious kind.

Essex Police executed a warrant at the 74-year-old’s address in Central Avenue, Rochford, on September 27, 2018, after receiving reports a BT internet connection had been used to access indecent images.

Liew was in America at the time, but police seized his computer and other devices where the images were stored.

The images had been accessed from 1997 to 2018, and included girls dressed in school uniform.

The pistol and ammunition was also found in a draw, and later tested. It was still working.

Liew was arrested when he arrived back to the UK.

He admitted the charges at crown court last year, and appeared on Tuesday for sentencing.

Mitigating for Liew, Gwawr Thomas said that he had cared for his ill wife from 2010 to 2018 until her death.

She said: “The majority were acquired when caring for his wife. When physical intimacy was no longer possible he sought relief on the computer behind the closed door of the spare room.

“He now recognises the harm these sort of offences do.”

Judge Samantha Cohen said the evidence showed Liew had a clear sexual interest in young schoolgirls.

Liew received five years in prison for having the pistol, two years for the ammunition, and 16 months for the indecent images, to run concurrently.