A SEXUAL deviant who created a number of pseudo indecent images using the face of environmental activist Greta Thunberg has walked free from court.

Kyle Tumeo photoshopped the teenager’s head onto pornographic images as well as superimposing images of himself.

The 34-year-old’s behaviour came to light when an email was intercepted and police were alerted, Teesside Crown Court heard.

Jenny Haigh, prosecuting, said officers raided the defendants home address and recovered four digital devices containing more than 600 pseudo indecent images or prohibited images of children, which had been created up until March 2021.

Following his arrest, he initially denied the offences but admitted to one officer he was responsible for the images. However, when he was interviewed he replied no comment to all questions, she said.

Miss Haigh added: “The majority of the images were pseudo images where the defendant had photoshopped the face of Greta Thunberg onto images of children and adults.

“The defendant had also photoshopped images of his own image on various pornographic images.”

The Acer laptop, two mobiles phones, and Amazon tablet seized by the police were ordered to be destroyed by the judge.

Tumeo, of New Road, Billingham, pleaded guilty to making 162 pseudo images of children in Category A with a further three indecent images; making 146 pseudo images of children in Category B; and making 188 pseudo images of children and ten indecent images of children.

Chris Baker, in mitigation, said his client suffered some medical conditions and urged the judge to give him full credit for his early guilty plea.

Judge Timothy Stead sentenced Tumeo to a two-year community order, which included taking part in an accredited sexual offences programme, and 55 rehabilitation activity requirement days to address his offending.

“I think you know what you have been doing was wrong, it’s not just wrong when you get found out, it is just wrong particularly if it leads to something else,” he added.

“What you have been doing is doing something in private, and I’m sure when you did it, you thought there was no harm in this, nobody will ever find out about it – well you were wrong about all those things.”

Tumeo was also ordered to sign on the sex offenders’ register for five years and was issued with sexual harm prevention order for the same length of time.

The judge added: “If you do as you’re asked and engage properly then that will be the last you hear about it, providing that you don’t commit any further offences.

“If you breach it or commit another offence, you can be sentenced again for this and that could include imprisonment.”

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