JOHNATHAN HARDIE FROM HUDDERSFIELD CAUGHT VIEWING CHILD PORNOGRAPHY IN BRADFORD

In a case that has shocked the local community, Johnathan Duncan Hardie, a 47-year-old man from Huddersfield, was found to be viewing illegal child pornography on the internet. The incident came to light after police conducted a search at his former workplace located on Harris Street in Bradford’s Little Germany district in January. During the investigation, authorities discovered a computer containing a staggering total of 390 pornographic images depicting minors.

Hardie, who is married and has two young children aged five and seven, as well as two older children aged 21 and 18 from a previous marriage, was identified as the user of the computer. Evidence showed that he had used his work-related credit card to subscribe to the website hosting these illicit images. The police’s examination of the material revealed a disturbing range of content, with images graded from level one to level five, the latter indicating the most severe form of abuse. Specifically, a sample of 20 images was analyzed, with five classified as level four, ten as level three, one as level two, and four as level one, highlighting the seriousness of the material involved.

During the hearing at Dewsbury magistrates court, Hardie’s defense, represented by Robert Dawson, provided a mitigating explanation. Dawson revealed that Hardie had himself been a victim of abuse during his childhood at a boarding school. He believed that the images he was viewing might have been taken during the time he was abused, and he was attempting to locate his own abuser. Dawson explained that this was in the context of an unrelated police investigation into child abuse at the same school, which had since fallen apart. He acknowledged that, in hindsight, Hardie’s efforts to find his abuser were futile given the vastness of the internet and the numerous individuals who could access such content.

However, Dawson emphasized that Hardie did not see this as an excuse for his actions. He pointed out that his client was deeply affected by his own past trauma and that his emotional distress was evident during his attempts to find the images. Despite these mitigating factors, the court made it clear that viewing and possessing such images perpetuates the cycle of abuse and causes further harm to innocent children.

As a result, Hardie was sentenced to a three-year community rehabilitation order after admitting to possessing 20 indecent images of children. Additionally, he was ordered to participate in a sex offenders’ program, placed on the sex offenders’ register for five years, fined £60 to cover costs, and his computer was confiscated. The chairman of the bench, Clifford Bromley, expressed his disapproval of Hardie’s actions, stating that subscribing to these websites contributed directly to the ongoing abuse of children. Bromley also acknowledged Hardie’s past victimization, which he said might have influenced his behavior.

Despite the severity of the charges, the court recognized Hardie’s cooperation and his guilty plea at the earliest opportunity. Bromley concluded by noting that while Hardie’s past abuse might have played a role, it did not justify his current actions, and the court’s primary concern was the protection of children from further harm.