An Essex teenager was found to have more than 1,500 sexual images of children – with victims as young as six months old. Harry Woods also distributed hundreds more images in an online Telegram group chat with other people, but has been spared jail.
Woods, now 19, of Finer Close, Clacton, sobbed in the dock as he was sentenced at Chelmsford Crown Court on Monday (January 13). The court heard that Essex Police had been alerted to his IP address accessing indecent images of children and his home was raided in October 2022.
After four devices were seized from the home, numerous indecent images were found on them, including Woods’ own phone. There were 311 images in category A – the most serious kind – with 353 videos also in this category. There were 365 category B images plus 98 videos, and then more than 1,000 category C images and 83 videos. Additionally, there were three videos of “extreme” pornography.
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Prosecuting, Joel Reynolds told the court that a small number of victims featured in the indecent material were as young as six months to a year old, with the extreme pornography including animals. Mr Reynolds said evidence was found that showed Woods had distributed 280 indecent images in category A through a group chat on Telegram.
The prosecutor said apart from one comment that suggested he may have been hacked, Woods indicated guilty pleas to seven counts of making and distributing the images, along with the extreme pornography possession at the earliest opportunity.
Mitigating, Andrew Forsyth said Woods was “deeply ashamed of his behaviour”. He said: “He has had this time to reflect and try to make sense of what on earth he was doing. He comes from a law-abiding, hardworking, responsible family who he has let down by these activities.
“He feels ashamed of what he has done, and completely regrets the whole thing, and [has brought] shame on his family. He has not been looking at these images for a little over two years now. He had issues with friendships and is a rather isolated and lonely young man.”
Mr Forsyth said Woods dropped out of taking exams in school because he felt he “couldn’t take them” but has since been working at B&M for more than a year. He continued: “He had an isolated existance looking for friends online. He was getting into more extreme material and finding a friendship group through this Telegram account of distributing indecent images.”
Judge Mary Loram KC told Woods he had “not only fed into the vile market of children being abused, but shared images with other accounts”. She took account of his age and remorse, and chose to give him a two-year suspended prison sentence. He must complete 30 days rehabilitation, 150 hours of unpaid work and pay £150 in costs. Woods will also be given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for ten years.