39-year-old Shaun Harris of West View Crescent, Devizes, pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children, three counts of distributing indecent images of children and one count of possessing extreme pornography at Salisbury Crown Court.

Officers from Wiltshire Police’s Child Internet Exploitation team were made aware of indecent images being uploaded on to Harris’ computer and arrested him in September, 2019. His computer and mobile devices were then seized for analysis.

During this analysis, thousands of images involving children had been downloaded which included category A images, which are the most serious. Further analysis showed that Harris had been communicating and sharing these images with others online.

 Detective Constable Charlotte Mason said:

“Behind every one of these images is a vulnerable child and these crimes are among the most distressing that we investigate.

“Harris is a habitual collector of indecent images that include the most serious kind, category A, for his own gratification.

“I’m pleased with this sentence as safeguarding children online is a priority for the police and this sends out a message that we will do our utmost to bring offenders like Harris to justice.”