July 2011

 paedophile had child porn images

A paedophile who sexually molested two young boys when he was 13 was caught six years later hoarding child pornography.

Shaun Harris, 22, lured the youngsters, aged six and eight, into adog kennel and indecently assaulted them.

He covered the kennel with a carpet and committed a sex act in front of the boys, Bradford Crown Court heard yesterday.

Harris pleaded guilty on June 15 this year to ten offences of making an indecent photo of a child and one of possessing indecent images of children.

Prosecutor Andrew Petterson said Harris failed to attend at his trial and had to be arrested at his home and brought to court.

He then admitted all the offences and the case was adjourned for a report by the probation service.

Mr Petterson said police seized Harris’s computer from his home in St Paul’s Road, Manningham, Bradford, on August 26, 2008.

Officers also removed a digital camera attached to the computer that was pointing into the street.

The laptop computer was damaged but it was sent to specialists who recovered 323 indecent images of children.

They included two at level four, the second highest scale of seriousness.

Harris told police the images were already on his computer when he bought it.

Judge James Goss QC said the case involved serious issues and prison was an option.

But if Harris was locked up he would serve a short sentence and be released into the community without supervision or treatment.

The judge said the public would best be protected if Harris was sentenced to a three-year community order with supervision.

He must attend a sex offender treatment programme and Judge Goss said any breach of the order must be dealt with by the Crown Court.

He warned Harris that failure to comply with the order could lead to a substantial prison sentence.

Judge Goss made a Sexual Offences Prevention Order without limit of time to safeguard children from Harris.

He must also sign on with the police as a monitored sex offender for the next five years.