Upset, need help and advice.

[StrawberryFields67]

I've name-changed for this.

Long story short, I have a male relative, in his 70s, who bought a computer a couple of years ago for emailing and listening to music and whatever. He is always running into problems with it and recently brought it to me to 'fix'.

So I took it home, opened it up and saw it. Not just search history but endless OPEN tabs, bookmarks, videos all over the desktop of the most horrible sexual stuff I have ever encountered. Stuff that I suspect might be illegal but I don't know for sure because there's no way I'm putting those god-awful search terms in my history.

I tried to mention this discreetly to a friend, omitting details, and I got the usual "leave him alone", "everyone has needs", "porn is normal" blah blah blah and to just let it go. But I can't because this man is a god damn deviant and I will never look at him in the same way again. I never want to be in the same space. I don't know how in the hell he could hand over a laptop with that EVERYWHERE ON IT and not even care?

I don't event want to describe this but basically, what I saw - it wasn't children. But as far as I'm concerned, it was just as bad. It was the same level of severity in my eyes.

I feel sick.
I have cleared and deleted everything that was on it and now I am considering 2 options.

1. Tell him what I saw, and that it's illegal, and then try and deter him with a half-truth. Eg. "The police can track everyone's Internet history, and they can find out your location from your IP address, so they can see what people search for." Something like that. Although I doubt he would believe me and he won't know what an IP address is.

1. Never give it back. Tell him it was broken beyond repair, destroy it, hope he can't afford another. A short-term solution at best.

1. Give it back, cleaned, with about 10,000 porn blockers or filters on it so he can't find this stuff. Do they even exist? There must be "family-safe" plug-ins and apps that I could install which would block access to this stuff?

OK, definitely not stumbled upon by accident then. I assume illegal too.

that is 100% illegal. poor animals!!! disgusting

I would report him

what a fucking sicko

Tell him what I saw, and that it's illegal, and then try and deter him with a half-truth. Eg. "The police can track everyone's Internet history, and they can find out your location from your IP address, so they can see what people search for." Something like that. Although I doubt he would believe me and he won't know what an IP address is.

This one.

Bestiality Laws And Pornography In England And Wales
In addition to offences related to having sex with a live animal, the law in England and Wales states that watching, possessing, or distributing pornography of bestiality is also against the law.

Taken from 1st page in Google about laws I'm uk.

Definitely report.

You shouldn't have interfered with it at all. You've destroyed the evidence and it's not a given that police forensic officers would be able to recover it.

I have cleared and deleted everything that was on it and now I am considering 2 options

Is this your dad, is this why you're being so weird about it?

Because anyone else in this situation would have handed it straight back and said its full of porn and I'm not prepared to spend any time sorting it out.

I get why you would be reluctant to report but clearing it all just brushes it under the carpet. Grim.

Op... if you aren't interested jn having a relationship with him - whynwokldny you report something so serious if illegal? Not to be funny or argumentative, just wondering why you wouldn't report it to the police.

You've destroyed evidence. You should have reported it.

So you've tried to cover his tracks for him?? And WHEN it gets uncovered next time by someone else (& chances are, it will) it's likely he will be reported, and if forensics look at previous history, see it's been cleared before, do you think he wouldn't say it was you that did it?

Seems to me you've been (not intentionally) complicit in his illegal actions! And also destroying evidence the police would need

I would dispose of it, advising it was damaged beyond all means possible to fix, so you cannot be bought into any potential future issues..

Disgusting. And cruel. Report it to the police.

I work in IT, most things are recoverable and traceable. Give it to the police.

Tell him you've taken screenshots, and that you'll be able to tell if he accesses this stuff in future, and that if you catch him at it, you'll send the screenshots to everyone he knows. Scare and shame the life out of the deviant arsehole.

Surely you don’t mean you have deleted everything and haven’t reported it? You are complicit in this if that’s the case? Why on earth would you not report this?

Grandad.

I am not trying to be weird about it but I just wish this hadn't landed on my door.

For context - he's 70-odd. He lives alone, has health conditions, depends on family quite a bit to drive him around and do a bit of housework etc. He goes to church, he is somebody you would ever imagine would have those inclinations. If I "report" this anywhere, it would cause an absolute shitstorm. If my family believed it, they will stop speaking to him and then he will be isolated. If they don't, they will stop speaking to me and accuse me of lying. I am not joking when I say that if he were interviewed or called to court or something, I would be worried that he would commit suicide.

Basically, I know it sounds cowardly but I just do not want to be in this position and I don't want to implode my own life because an old man watches sick shit on the Internet and I was unlucky enough to open some tabs. It would open a can of worms that I could never close again.

You've covered for him? Well not much he can't get away with now is there and when he's eventually found out he can tell them you fix his laptops and didn't say anything.

I would go with the first option you mentioned then. What a horrible situation to be in. Also if he has any pets please take them off him.

You need to report it OP, blocking it on his computer just means he will find another way to look at it. Not to mention that these people aren’t making these videos just for your grandad, there will be plenty of other people watching them as well and so the animals will continue to be abused in the name of making them. UNLESS you report it, then it can be dealt with properly.

At least tell him that beastiality is illegal and if he caught with it he'll be in a lot of trouble. Might put the shits up him enough to knock it off.

OP, is this your dad? You seem to have offered three options that mean he does not face any consequences for his illegal behaviour. You are literally tying yourself in knots to make sure he does not face any repercussions for this?

It doesn’t sound cowardly. It is.
I don’t know why you asked for advice when you intended to delete evidence and cover up for him.

OP, you know your own mind. Most people wouldnt want to shop their own grandad either. Just hand it back, tell him if he does it again he may get his collar felt and leave it at that.

Sorry I missed your update.

So hand it back to him tell him you've deleted all his illegal bestiality say if he continues to view out he should expect a visit from the police as they track stuff like this then step back and give him a very wide berth.

Beastiality? I’d go with option 1. Tell him it’s vile and that the police WILL find him.