BARRY HARKCOM, IT EXPERT FROM WIMBORNE, SENTENCED FOR ILLEGAL COLLECTION OF CHILD ABUSE IMAGES

In August 2017, Barry Harkcom, a 56-year-old IT specialist from Wimborne, was convicted for possessing an enormous collection of child abuse material. He admitted to downloading up to 20 million images and videos over a span of 16 years and concealed the files using advanced technology on his laptop.

Harkcom, who previously worked at Credit Plus in Fleetsbridge and is a father, explained in court that he had never actually watched the illegal content but found pleasure in cataloguing it. He stated, "porn leaves me cold – I find it incredibly boring," claiming his obsession was with organizing the files.

The court learned that police raided his flat in Wimborne in April of the previous year, where he was in bed and tried to quickly shut down his laptop in an apparent effort to prevent its seizure. Due to his extensive computer expertise, officers believed that even if he had succeeded, they might not have been able to see what was on his device because he used software designed to hide the content.

Harkcom reportedly told officers, "you would have been screwed if I managed to switch it off." During questioning, he described being in a confused state at the time and explained, "I was in a very confused state. I had dreamt about that situation for years. I was not convinced it was real." He claimed no memory of watching child abuse material before sleeping and only remembered watching the TV show "Yes Prime Minister."

He revealed he was raised with strict religious views and recalled purchasing porn videos in Soho at age 18 as a form of rebellion. He added, "I have always had massive collections of pornography. Child porn was simply another category – I stumbled across it."

Prosecutor Stuart Ellacott stated that Harkcom intentionally collected the images and used methods to hide his tracks, including coding and software like BleachBit to permanently delete files. Police seized a laptop and 48 hard drives, analyzing about 5% of the content and estimating he may have stored as many as 20 million images and videos.

In the courtroom, Harkcom was observed crying and wiping his brow with a handkerchief. He expressed his remorse, saying, "I have a problem that having downloaded something, I can't delete it, I don't have the strength of character. It has caused me stress and anxiety for years. I have had nightmares about being raided by the police. I jumped for the power button because that's what I dreamt about doing for years." He insisted that any viewing was solely for organizing purposes, stating, "It is bizarre, I know. I lost my job and got evicted all on the same day but the overwhelming relief far outweighs those incidents. I am a compulsive hoarder."

The court was told that Harkcom deliberately tried to cover his tracks by using encryption and software to erase evidence. Judge Brian Forster QC sentenced him to two years and one month in prison, condemning his defense as "offends common sense." Additionally, Harkcom is to be subjected to a 10-year sexual harm prevention order and will remain on the sex offenders register for 10 years. His computer and hard drives will be confiscated.