Preston man is given sexual harm prevention order over indecent images

David James Fletcher, of Plungington Road, Plungington, Preston, pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of youngsters after mp4 files were found on his computer equipment.

The 47-year-old was charged after a probe by Lancashire Police.

Th 47-year-old defendant downloaded the images in the Preston area over a period between August 2018 and January 2019, the court was told.

Fletcher was given a two year community order with a requirement to take part in a sex offender treatment programme called Horizon, and was also given a rehabilitation activity requirement.

In addition, he was also given a five year sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) with terms restricting his access to the internet and to young people.

Judge Andrew Jefferies QC ordered the forfeiture and destruction of the IT equipment seized by officers during the probe, and ordered Fletcher to pay an £85 victim surcharge.

Last year there were more than 20,000 recorded indecent child image incidents across all online and social media platforms in the UK.

The NSPCC charity says this equates to one incident image of a youngster being recorded every 23 minutes.

Almost two-thirds of those cases were related to taking, making or distributing indecent photographs, while around a quarter of them involved possession.