April 2016 Pervert jailed for child sex offences A postal worker has been jailed after admitting sexual offences involving children. Joe Ellis, of Weavers Lane, Henfield, admitted nine offences, including five of making a total of 138 indecent images of children (with images ranging from A to C among the most serious in nature). He also pleaded guilty to an assault by touching of girl under 13, two of causing and inciting a girl under 13 to engage in sexual activity, and one of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child. Ellis, 53, will be a registered sex offender for life and was given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) to last indefinitely, severely restricting his access to children and computers. He was sentenced to four and a half years imprisonment at a hearing at Brighton Crown Court on Monday. All the ‘contact’ sexual offences related to the same girl, who was known to him, during 2008. The indecent images were taken from the Internet and do not involve local children. The prosecution followed an intelligence-led investigation by the Sussex Police Paedophile Investigation Team (POLIT), who received information that Ellis had been sharing indecent images of children via the Internet. After officers executed a warrant at his address the contact offences came to light during further enquiries. Detective Constable Helen Curtis of POLIT said: “Some of the images were of the most serious type, but this is a case which shows that some men who view images of the most horrific child sex abuse can also act out their fantasies by actual physical abuse of children.”