HALIFAX COMPUTER WHIZKID CARL HOWARTH SHAMES HIMSELF WITH CHILD PORN IMAGES

In a case that has shocked the community of Halifax, a young man named Carl Howarth, aged 24, faced the courts in Bradford after being found guilty of possessing a significant number of indecent images of children. The proceedings revealed disturbing details about Howarth's activities, which took place in his home on Burnley Road, Halifax.

On May 2006, Howarth appeared before Bradford Crown Court to admit to 20 separate charges related to the possession of illegal images. The court was informed that police had conducted a raid on his residence on September 22, 2004, during which they seized two hard drives containing illicit material. The investigation uncovered that Howarth, who was employed as a software developer, had downloaded a total of 252 unlawful images depicting children, along with hundreds of other adult pornography images.

Prosecutor Robin Frieze detailed that Howarth had used two different software programs to share files with other users over a network. During police interviews, Howarth admitted that he had downloaded images multiple times starting from August 2003. Despite his claims that he primarily sought images of girls over the age of 16, he acknowledged that images of children appeared in many of his downloads. He also disclosed that he had accessed an internet chat room on four occasions and had requested files containing indecent material from other users.

In his defense, Howarth’s legal representative, Nick Askins, emphasized that his client had learned a hard lesson from the proceedings. Askins highlighted that Howarth was of previously good character, with an excellent academic record and a first-class work history since leaving school. He stressed that Howarth had much to lose and that this incident was a significant wake-up call.

Judge Roger Taylor, presiding over the case, considered the appropriate sentence. While he acknowledged the severity of the offenses, he also noted that it was within his power to avoid imposing a custodial sentence. The judge ultimately decided to impose a community punishment order requiring Howarth to complete 200 hours of unpaid work. Additionally, Howarth was prohibited from working with children or maintaining a private internet account. He was also ordered to pay prosecution costs amounting to 920 pounds and was placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register for a period of seven years, reflecting the seriousness of his crimes and the potential risk to the community.