A Saskatoon man said goodbye to his family and began serving a 15-month jail sentence Wednesday for collecting child pornography and making it available to others over the Internet.

Andrew Joseph Benson, 22, will be on probation for three years after his release from custody, under strict conditions designed to keep him away from computers and children under 16.

Police investigators found 227 pieces of child pornography -- including videos and images of victims as young as five, some of which depicted bondage, incest and other extreme acts of sexual abuse -- when they executed a search warrant at the home where Benson lived with his parents in May 2007.

Following a trial last month, Queen's Bench Justice Frank Gerein found him guilty of possessing the material and making it available to others through an Internet file-sharing program.

Making child porn available on the Internet carries a minimum sentence of one year behind bars.

Benson had taken the trouble of backing up and storing some of his illegal collection -- "all of which can only be described as depraved" -- on compact discs that he kept in his bedroom, Gerein noted in passing the sentence.

"I am satisfied that the material did not come into your possession by accident," the judge told Benson.

Crown prosecutor Mike Segu told Gerein he had concerns about several character reference letters Benson filed with the court prior to sentencing -- especially one from a woman who alluded to "dishonest" website headings and pop-up windows on the Internet.

The woman wrote she doesn't believe Benson deliberately sought out or collected child pornography.

However, indisputable evidence to the contrary was presented at his trial, so it appears Benson may not have been entirely honest with the people who wrote character references for him, Segu said.

In most child pornography cases, the court doesn't have a chance to hear from the victims, whose trauma is compounded by having to spend the rest of their lives knowing people like Benson continue to view and trade images of their abuse with the click of a button, he noted.

Benson, who was 18 at the time of his offences, lost his job after the charges were laid and has changed employers several times while awaiting trial, the sentencing heard.

"Over the past three years, I feel my life has been at a standstill," he told Gerein.

The terms of Benson's probation will include sex offender treatment and a prohibition against being near public parks, pools, playgrounds, day cares and other places where children congregate, as well as a ban on possession of any form of pornography.

He will also be prohibited from having computers and similar devices in his home and from accessing the Internet at all, except with written permission for the purpose of employment.

Police will be allowed to search his home or vehicle without a warrant to check for compliance with those terms and he will not be allowed to leave the province without written approval.

Benson's name and address will also be kept on the national sex offender registry for the next 20 years.