Pervert caught in web trap is jailed after emailing indecent images of children to 'widow'

John Harrison, aged 60, had been emailing a woman he believed to be Kim Roberts, apparently a widow from Kent, who made it known she had a son aged nine and a six-year-old daughter, Wolverhampton Crown Court heard.

But the name was an alias used to find out how Harrison, from Tipton, would react.

Mr Ian Windridge, prosecuting, said that during the email exchange Harrison gave 'Ms Roberts' an indication of what he would wish to do, sending her more than 200 inappropriate pictures and video footage of children.

Three months later, on June 24 last year, police executed a search warrant at Harrison's Upper Church Lane home, seizing computer discs and other equipment. An analysis report revealed there were 667 of the more serious category A images, 538 category B pictures, 3,777 category C images, 1,648 prohibited pictures and 21 images of extreme pornography.

It was also noted that a number of relevant search terms were used, such as references to 11-year-olds, puberty, family love and pre-teen hardcore, the court heard.

Harrison admitted distributing material to others but was not able to give further details, although it was known that he was sending material to someone with the user name of Stacy1195, the court heard.

Mr Windridge said: "Kim Roberts was a fictitious name for someone who has connections with law enforcement. She played along, she did not encourage. It was a set-up to see what the defendant was prepared to do."

Mr David Bratt, defending, said Harrison was a married man, a hardworking employee and a 'constructive' member of society with no previous convictions.

"It is somewhat tragic at the age of 60 to fall from grace in such circumstances," he said.

"He knows the public revulsion of these cases and acknowledges the harm that the nature of the crime causes to young children. It is a badge of shame he carries with some weight."

He said that Harrison regarded the email exchange as 'fantasy role play'.

But Judge Wait told him: "Every child who appears in a moving or still image is, in truth, being tortured and the people who do this do it for money, and there is only money to be made because of the interest that you and others have in it. You may not have paid but others do."

Harrison pleaded guilty to six charges of making indecent photos of children, two of distributing indecent photos of children, one count of possessing an extreme pornographic image and one of possessing a prohibited image of a child.

He was sentenced to 18 months behind bars, placed on the sex offenders register and and made the subject of a sexual harm protection order.