MAN FOUND WITH INDECENT IMAGES OF CHILDREN FOR SECOND TIME
A man who admitted to being sexually attracted to children has been caught again with explicit images of kids.Darren Andrew Halliwell, aged 53, of Blackwater Drive, Totton, appeared at Southampton Crown Court on Tuesday, January 13, having admitted to possession of indecent images of children.
This relates to six Category A images, 22 Category B images, and 28 Category C images found on his iPhone 8 between January 8, 2022, and July 13, 2022.
This is his second appearance at the court for similar charges, having been given a three-year community order in 2011 after being found with over 5,000 images of child abuse.
Harriet Bennett, prosecuting, told the court that the ages of those in the latest images were between three and 12 years old.
She said that when Halliwell was interviewed by police, he admitted to a sexual attraction to children.
Adrian Fleming, mitigation, said: "The court will be concerned that this is a reoffending of a similar nature to offences that took place back some 15 or 16 years ago.
There are some triggering events in his life at the time." He told the court that Halliwell's former partner became involved with drugs and would throw sexual parties, something that the defendant found difficult to deal with.
The court heard he received the images after chatting to someone online, and that they were unsolicited, but admits not immediately deleting them, keeping them on the phone for around 36 hours.
The court was told that even before his arrest, Halliwell had been seeking rehabilitation and treatment to "rid himself of these urges", and that he himself had been abused as a child.
Judge Recorder Don Tait said: "Back in July 2011, some time ago now, I acknowledge, you were before the court for similar offences.
You didn't learn your lesson from that appearance before the court back in 2011, and here we are again.
You sought professional assistance for your issues before you were even arrested.
You obviously realised what difficulties you were getting yourself into.
You must realise, if you don't realise already, that you won't be able to argue this again." Halliwell received a 12-month prison sentence, suspended for two years.
He must complete 30 rehabilitation activity requirement days and is subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for ten years.
He must also pay £150 in court costs and a surcharge.
