Larne pensioner (75) jailed at Antrim Crown Court for string of child sex image offences

David Harper of Drumnagreagh Road in Ballygally was sentenced at Antrim Crown Court on Friday for 20 offences including attempted sexual communication with a child and making, possessing and distributing indecent, prohibited and extreme images of children.

He was sentenced to two years imprisonment and will serve eight months in prison and 16 months on licence. He will be placed on the Sex Offenders Register for 10 years and will be subjected to a Sexual Offences Prevention Order for seven years.

After sentencing, police warned that they were actively looking for those who commit such offences.

Detective Inspector Richard Vasey said “Police were alerted to the online behaviour of David Harper, which led to us conducting a search of his property.

"The search resulted in a number of electronic devices being seized for forensic examination and Mr Harper being arrested and later charged for child abuse related offences.

"These searches are part of the continuing proactive work by the Police Service of Northern Ireland’s Child Internet Protection Team, a dedicated unit staffed with officers trained specifically to deal with online offending and safeguard those who have been exploited.

"Our message is clear, if a person is downloading, viewing or making indecent images of children, you are leaving a digital footprint and we are actively looking for you. We use specialist technology to detect digital devices, to make it difficult for offenders to hide evidence from the police.

"We will continue to proactively targeting those people in our community who seek to abuse children and I would encourage anyone with concerns or information to get in contact us on 101 or 999 in an emergency. We will act on the information we receive.”