A social media website tipped off North Wales Police about a man who was sharing indecent images of children
Police then obtained a search warrant and raided the home of Edward John Wyn Drury last May.
Forensic experts found hundreds of indecent images and videos of child abuse on electronic devices seized from the 22-year-old at Bryn Llys, Meliden near Prestatyn as well as a another address nearby.
He admitted two charges of distributing indecent photographs of children and was at Caernarfon Crown Court for sentencing.
Drury also admitted charges of possessing 71 indecent images at the most serious category A, 82 at category B and 349 at category C.
He also admitted possessing extreme pornographic images and prohibited images of children.
The offences are said to have occurred between October 2014 and May last year.
Jailing him for 20 months, Judge Huw Rees said his offending was "persistent and well entrenched in his warped mind".
Defence counsel Simon Killeen said his client accepted prison was inevitable but asked the judge to consider if the sentence needed to be served immediately.
The barrister said the public might be better served if he were handed a suspended sentence with onerous requirements as set out in a pre-sentence report by the Probation Service.
Elen Owen, prosecuting, said police found 498 images and videos on the devices with a further 458 files which demonstrated an interest in children.
Other images found were not illegal but concerning she added and there was evidence of Drury visiting websites known to host indecent images of children.
Drury must register with the police as a sex offender for 10 years and be the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for the same period.
