A former Cub Scout leader from Bedford is going to jail after being sentenced for child-pornography charges on Monday.

Craig Ward, 51, was given four months behind bars followed by 18 months of probation for possessing child porn. He is also under several conditions including counselling if deemed necessary, not to access the Internet except for employment or educational purposes, and having no contact with kids under 16 unless permission is granted.

He also has to provide DNA and be registered in the sexual-offender database. Judge Barbara Beach called it “depraved” and “loathsome criminal activity.”

Ward was arrested after police searched a home on Dartmouth Road in Bedford on Dec. 9, 2010. Two men, Ward and Timothy Budden, were arrested without incident and police seized computer equipment.

Beach said 69 still images and 13 videos were attributed to Ward.

Ward was a Scouts Canada leader with a Sackville group but police have said local children were not involved.

“The children who are the subject matter must live not only with the degrading circumstances as the images were made, but with the knowledge the images are being disseminated all over the world,” Beach said.

But she added she was impressed with Ward’s participation in a sexual-behaviour assessment and that he has taken counselling. She reported his counsellor said he was humiliated and embarrassed by his actions.

“I have no doubt your remorse here is genuine,” she said.