A Welcome Bay man found with more than 10,000 images of child pornography and 26 movies has been sent to jail for two years and two months.

Gregory Todd Stewart, 48, was sentenced in Tauranga District Court yesterday after earlier pleading guilty to four charges of making an objectionable publication, and 12 of possession of objectionable material.

The Welcome Bay man has been jailed for two years, two months.

The material was brought to the attention of an Internal Affairs' inspector in 2012, who discovered Stewart was downloading movies and image files from the internet.

On July 9, 2013 Stewart's Papamoa Beach address, where the offending took place, was searched. Four DVDs containing 26 movies of girls, between the ages of four and 14, involved in sexual activity with adult males were found.

There were also about 11,000 sexual image files of girls, ranging from seven-years-old through to late teens, was discovered on his hard drive, along with an extensive search history of child abuse images and material.

The maximum penalty for making an objectionable publication is 10 years imprisonment and five years for possession of objectionable material.

Stewart's lawyer Bill Nabney proposed a starting point of three years during sentencing and which, with reductions for guilty plea and remorse, could be transferred to home detention.

The Crown proposed a slightly higher starting point of three and a half years jail – a position Judge Thomas Ingram agreed with.

Judge Ingram told the court Stewart's offending requires a sentence of imprisonment, as the community needs protection from this type of offending.

'It's premeditated behaviour; you must have known every time you clicked on that computer,” says Judge Ingram.

'Anyone who saw it, would no doubt know it was objectionable.”

Starting at three and a half years, the Judge reduced the sentence by 16 months for Stewart's guilty plea, genuine remorse, and cooperation with Internal Affairs.

Stewart was convicted and sentenced to two years and two months on each of the charges, to be served concurrently.

An order for the destruction of the images and forfeiture of the computer was also made.

Internal Affairs community safety manager Steve O'Brien says the sentence is a warning to other similar offenders who think they're safe in the confines of their home.

'People may think they're anonymous on the Internet, but they should think again,” says Steve.

'We have demonstrated we can track them down and get the necessary evidence, despite best efforts to conceal offending.

'Trading or viewing child sex abuse images is not passive offending, or a victimless crime, because it involves real children forced into degrading acts and condones the abuse they suffer.”