400 indecent images of children seized from 'high achieving' Wolverhampton engineer
Man blamed escalating pornography addiction for his crimes
A "high achiever" has pleaded guilty to downloading more than 400 indecent images of children.
Harvin Lalli, a mechanical engineer, was caught out after National Crime Agency officers spotted an online upload of an image to his Discord website account on March 13, 2025. The activity which started in April 2024 was reported to the West Midlands Police Child Sex Exploitation unit.
Officers armed with a warrant swooped on the 26-year-old’s former Willenhall address on March 15 last year and seized a phone, an electronic tablet and an office computer.
Ms Maninder Chaggar, prosecuting, told Wolverhampton Crown Court that checks of the devices uncovered 139 photographs of the worst kind listed as category A, 78 category B, 93 category C images along with 106 prohibited cartoon images of children. Some of the material was of moving images and featured girls as young as aged three.
“The checks clearly showed child abuse material. He was arrested and when he was taken to Wolverhampton Police Station he said he had been addicted to pornography for many years and became drawn into taboo areas.
“He said he was not attracted to young children, but had been overtaken by the stresses in his life,” Ms Chaggar said.
The court heard Lalli, had been attending specialist counselling service Stop it Now which had helped him.
Stephen Cadwaladr, mitigating, said Lalli was a high achiever at school and gained a masters degree in engineering. He said he was at university during the Covid years, and had become isolated, but was being supported by a relative who accompanied him to court.
Sentencing him on Wednesday Judge Michael Chambers KC said: “I have to sentence you for downloading indecent images of children. I hope you understand the seriousness of these offences.
“These are not simply images. These are of real children. It’s not an abstract watching of pornography.
“It clearly crosses the custody threshold.”
The judge added: “I am anxious that he does not lose his employment.” He said he took Lalli’s mitigation that he was getting psychotherapy treatment into account.
For admitting making and possessing indecent images the defendant was sentenced to an 18-month community order with requirements to carry out 120 hours unpaid work. He must pay £150 costs, was made subject to the sex offenders register and a sexual harm prevention order both for five years.
The judge also made a forfeiture and depravation order for the devices. Lalli, now of Acacia Grove, Kingston-Upon-Thames, was given 28 days to pay.
“If you breach any of the orders you will be re-sentenced and sent to prison,” Judge Chambers added.