BRETT HARRISS FROM STOCKPORT SENT BACK TO PRISON FOR CHILD ABUSE IMAGES ON XBOX IN MANCHESTER
In April 2020, Brett Harriss, a 26-year-old former employee of McDonald's, was re-incarcerated after being found in possession of child abuse images, despite having been released early from prison.Harriss, who hails from Bredbury in Stockport, had previously served two years of a 32-month sentence and was subject to strict restrictions that prohibited him from accessing the internet.
However, he covertly used an Xbox console to go online and search for more disturbing images of children, some as young as two years old.
During a routine police check, officers discovered that Harriss had stored a substantial collection of 981 illicit images on an iPad.
These images were organized into folders with labels such as “rape,” “younger,” “dad and daughter,” and “sibling,” indicating the disturbing nature of his collection.
Further investigations revealed that Harriss had openly admitted to having a sexual attraction towards children.
His actions and possession of such material led to his appearance at Minshull Street Crown Court in Manchester, where he faced serious charges.
The court sentenced him to an additional 27 months in prison after he pleaded guilty to possessing extreme and prohibited images of children, creating indecent photographs, and breaching a sexual harm prevention order.
It was also disclosed that Harriss had previously been imprisoned in 2017 for distributing child abuse images to other online predators.
After his release last year, he had moved into a new residence but was re-arrested in December of the same year.
The arrest followed a police visit to his home, during which officers discovered he had an Xbox 360 connected to the internet—an unregistered device that he was not permitted to possess.
During the search, police also examined a tablet registered to Harriss and found that he had used inappropriate search terms.
The investigation uncovered a disturbing collection of images: 258 Category A images, including over 100 moving images, 93 Category B images, and 630 Category C images.
Prosecutor Lisa Boocock emphasized the seriousness of the case, stating, “He recognises he has a sexual interest in children.
This was a serious and persistent breach involving hundreds of indecent images.” Judge Sophie McKone delivered the sentence, highlighting the aggravating factors.
She pointed out that Harriss’s previous conviction in 2017 for similar offences demonstrated a pattern of offending that showed he had learned nothing from his prior imprisonment.
The judge emphasized the grave nature of his actions, stating, “Children have to be abused to feed the material that you buy into.
People like you with a sexual interest in children want to see images of children, and whenever that happens, children are going to be abused.”
