Matthew Harrison 34

Description

A perverted ex-soldier was found with sickening sexual images of vulnerable girls aged as young as four and six.

Matthew Harrison had distributed sexual images to others over the internet and the offending took place over a five-year period.

He had found life difficult after returning to civilian life when he left the Army and turned to drink and drugs, Hull Crown Court heard.

Harrison, 32, of Station Road, Howden, admitted three offences of making indecent images of children, three of distributing indecent images and one of possessing an image of extreme pornography.

The court heard that police searched Harrison's house on January 9 and his phone was seized.

It was examined and 64 accessible files were found, including eight images and three videos in the most serious Category A.

There were ten images and nine videos in Category B and 28 images and two videos in Category C.

The dates of the images spanned from 2016 to this year.

Recorder Richard Thyne told Harrison: "The most serious Category A images included girls aged four to six years old being forced to have sex with an adult male.

"You didn't only search for and access those images, you shared those images with others online.

"Evidence was found of the distribution of three Category A images, including two videos."

Harrison initially denied the matters but later made admissions.

"Some of the children were very young and aged as young as four to six," said Recorder Thyne.

"There was offending over a long period of time. There were a large number of different children involved.

"It's simply too serious to suspend the sentence. The offence of distribution is too serious and only an immediate sentence of imprisonment can be justified."

Harrison had convictions for criminal damage in 2009 and driving with drugs in his system this year.

Charlotte Baines, mitigating, said the images were on only one device and Harrison had shown genuine shame and remorse and an insight into the fact that they were not victimless crimes.

The children shown in the images were young and vulnerable.

Harrison's drink and drug problem began five or six years ago when he left the Army.

"Having served Queen and country, it left him with a lot of uncertainty in his life," said Miss Baines.

"He lost the structure in his life. He found it very difficult to acclimatise to civilian life."

He had suffered problems in his marriage and had decided to stay away from his child so that he did not bring any issues into its life.

Harrison was jailed for two years and was given a ten-year sexual harm prevention order. He must register as a sex offender for ten years.