HUDDERSFIELD PAEDOPHILE AVOIDS PRISON AFTER SHARING INDECENT IMAGES OF CHILDREN
A depraved paedophile with a "long-standing and deep seated" sexual interest in children has narrowly avoided a prison sentence.Andrew Pollard, 42, claimed he was drunk and under the influence of cocaine when he shared sick images of children being abused in a WhatsApp group filled with other offenders.
Leeds Crown Court heard on Tuesday that Pollard, from Brook Side, Slaithwaite in Huddersfield, had searched for indecent images of children and sent an indecent image of an underage girl to a teenage boy.
Prosecutor Mehran Nassiri told the court police received information at 11:16 pm on March 5, 2019, that a user—later identified as Pollard—had uploaded a category A indecent image of a child using Kik.
Pollard said that on October 14, 2020, police went to Brook Side in Huddersfield and arrested him from his bedroom, seizing two iPhones, a tablet, and a laptop.
He stated he was drunk and got images of children aged between 14 and 17 on Kik, and he was uninterested, uncertain if he had distributed them due to intoxication.
A total of 653 images were recovered from the devices, accessed between 2014 and 2020.
Pollard had also connected with others on Kik and WhatsApp, sharing files and engaging in 45 conversations, including large group chats sharing indecent images of children.
Search terms included "girls young," "teen selfies," "model teen selfie topless," and "hot teen 13 and 16." He also sent an indecent image of an underage girl to a teenage boy via WhatsApp.
The images found ranged from children as young as one-year-old up to 17 years old.
During court proceedings, Pollard pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of a child, three counts of distributing indecent images, possessing extreme pornography, and causing a child to view a sexual image.
His legal representative noted that his lifestyle was chaotic, with substance abuse and limited memory of his actions, and that he was remorseful and disgusted.
His Honour Judge Stubbs KC sentenced him to a two-year suspended term, ordered him to undertake 35 days of a treatment program, and 30 days of rehabilitation activity.
Pollard was also subjected to a 10-year sexual harm prevention order and ordered to sign the Sex Offenders' Register for 10 years.
The judge acknowledged the long-standing and deep-seated sexual interest behind his actions, emphasizing that these offenses were not accidental and involved a search for images of children engaged in sexual acts with like-minded people, with evidence of sharing these images online.
