AN UNREPENTANT and ‘perverted’ man from Kendal has been jailed for nine months for possessing dozens of pornographic images featuring children from cartoons such as The Simpsons.

Andrew Smith, 56, of Killington Drive, was found guilty of nine counts of possessing banned images of children as young as eight, after 36 sketches, drawings, cartoons and computer-generated images – many depicting sexual relation-ships between children and relatives – were found on disks at his home.

MORE TOP STORIES: Smith was sentenced at Carlisle Crown Court after being found guilty of the offences following a trial.

At the trial, Smith claimed the indecent images were ‘legitimate research’ for a book he planned to write detailing why incest should be made legal.

“I was researching the legitimacy of incest and downloaded the images to show that from an artist’s point-of-view incest is love,” he said.

“I’m not trying to promote in-breeding or the production of incestuously-conceived children but solely the enjoyment of sex and loving relationships within families.”

The images depicted characters from cartoons such as The Simpsons and King Of The Hill engaging in sexual activities with family members.

In pre-sentence reports, Smith said he was not willing to take part in any probation programme as it would not change his opinion.

Roger Baldwin, mitigating, said the report was consistent with Smith’s ‘bizarre and unattractive’ opinions, but his client, had downloaded the images before 2009 – at a time when it was not unlawful – and he had not been aware of changes in the law after 2010.

Recorder Simon Medland QC said: “You said you did not accept the law in question, you wanted to go to a jury trial. But that question was answered resoundingly by the jury who took the view that you had no legitimate reason for having those images and that your views were perverted and not shared by society.

“They thought sexual relationships between children and adults should be illegal and that children should be children.

“You made it quite clear to the writer that you’re wholly unrepentant and refuse to take part in any programme.

“There is only one outcome and that is an immediate custodial sentence.”

Smith was given nine months jail for each of the nine counts, the sentences to run concurrently. He was also made subject to a five- year sexual offences prevention order.