DANIEL TURNER FROM EASTBOURNE SENTENCED TO SEVEN YEARS FOR CHILD SEX OFFENCES AND DISTRIBUTION OF INDECENT IMAGES

In a significant case brought before Lewes Crown Court, Daniel Graham Turner, aged 33 and residing on Longstone Road in Eastbourne, was sentenced to a total of seven years in prison on March 2. This marked his second incarceration related to child sex offences, highlighting a troubling pattern of criminal behavior involving the exploitation of minors.

Turner had previously been convicted in September 2016 at Hove Crown Court, where he received a four-and-a-half-year sentence after pleading guilty to multiple charges, including causing or inciting a girl under the age of 13 to engage in sexual activity, along with nine counts of making and distributing indecent images of children. At that time, he was living in Polegate, and he was also placed on the sex offenders’ register for life and subjected to an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO).

The recent sentencing followed an investigation by Sussex Police’s Paedophile Online Investigation Team, which uncovered Turner’s continued involvement in accessing and sharing indecent images of children. The police received intelligence indicating that Turner had been actively viewing such material online. Officers executed a search warrant at his Eastbourne residence, where they seized various digital devices. A detailed forensic examination of these devices revealed that Turner had been downloading numerous indecent images of young girls, some of the most serious types classified under the law. Evidence also showed that he had exchanged images with others and engaged in online chats expressing his inappropriate desires concerning minors.

It was confirmed that all the images Turner acquired were obtained via the Internet, and authorities stated that none of the images appeared to involve local children from Eastbourne or the surrounding areas. Despite this, his actions constituted a serious breach of the law and his previous court orders.

Turner’s criminal activities came to light after police investigations, which demonstrated a disturbing pattern of online offending. His actions not only violated the terms of his previous SHPO but also posed a significant risk to the safety and well-being of children. The court’s judgment reflected the severity of his offences, with the first four years of his sentence to be served in custody, followed by three years on supervised release under prison license conditions. Throughout his life, Turner will remain a registered sex offender, with restrictions on his access to digital communication tools and contact with minors, as mandated by the court.

In addition to his current sentence, Turner’s past conviction in 2016 involved charges of causing or inciting a girl under 13 to engage in sexual activity, along with multiple counts of making and distributing indecent images. Although he was acquitted of a rape charge at that time, the court found him guilty of serious offences related to child exploitation. His previous sentence and ongoing registration as a sex offender underscore the gravity of his criminal conduct and the ongoing threat he poses to the community.