A man who admitted possessing and sharing child sexual abuse material, including material depicting children under nine and children subjected to extreme abuse, has been handed a two-year prison sentence suspended for four years.

He cannot be named because he was under 18 when the offences were committed.

The man pleaded guilty to all charges before Magistrate Jean Paul Grech during the second sitting of his case last July.

Police were alerted after receiving a report from the US-based National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children about a Google account being used to upload material depicting minors.

The account was being accessed through a Maltese IP address and was linked to a verified phone number and email address.

Police traced the Google account back to the accused and subsequently linked the IP address to an internet account registered to his father at the accused’s home.

Officers seized the accused’s mobile phone and tablet. An examination of the devices turned up child sexual abuse material.

The man was subsequently charged with possessing, distributing, transmitting and making available indecent material involving children under the age of nine.

The charges also covered material depicting children involved in bestiality or subjected to brutality, sadism or torture.

The man admitted to the charges brought against him.

In handing down sentence, the magistrate took into account the man’s clean criminal record, his cooperation with police and the fact that he had been under 18 when the offences were committed.

The court also noted the possession of the material was part and parcel of the distribution offence.

Taking those circumstances into account, the court stopped short of sending him straight to prison.

Instead, he was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment, suspended for four years.

The magistrate stressed that the four-year suspension was the maximum possible period because the case involved material depicting minors.

His mobile phone, tablet and charger were also ordered to be confiscated and destroyed.

The court also ordered that the conviction be entered into the relevant offenders’ register.