TIMOTHY HARRY FROM POOLE JAILED FOR CHILD ABUSE IMAGES IN DECEMBER 2007

In December 2007, Timothy Harry, a 29-year-old resident of Kitchener Crescent in Poole, was sentenced to four months in prison after admitting to possessing indecent images of children. The case was heard at Bournemouth Crown Court, where it was revealed that Harry had been found with a total of 26 such images, which he had stored on his home computer between January 2001 and November 2005.

Harry's arrest took place on November 17, 2005, when police officers from the high-tech crime unit executed a search warrant at his residence. During the search, they seized his computer and discovered a range of images classified from grade two to grade four offences, indicating varying degrees of seriousness and severity. The investigation highlighted the disturbing nature of the material found on his device.

In his defense, lawyer Paul Hester described Harry as a man of previously good character who had maintained steady employment at a local bank. Hester emphasized that the offending material dated back to a period before Harry's marriage and argued that the images found were a small portion of the larger amount of legitimate content he had downloaded over time. He also pointed out that Harry had since married the woman he was dating at the time of the offences, and that she continued to support him. Hester asserted that there was no evidence suggesting Harry posed a danger to children.

However, Judge John Beashel delivered a stern sentence, stating, "You must have known this was wrong; there is so much publicity about this type of offending. You played your part in the exploitation of these young children, albeit from a distance. Only a custodial sentence can be justified." As part of his sentence, Harry was prohibited from working with children and was required to register as a sex offender for a period of seven years.

Following the sentencing, Detective Constable Michael Rowan from Dorset Police's sex offenders investigation unit commented on the case, saying, "Hopefully this sentence will send out a message to others who are tempted to access this sort of material on their computer. Without people like Mr Harry, there would be no demand for these child abuse images."