HULL LAW STUDENT KYELARVIN JAILED FOR DOWNLOAD OF INDECENT IMAGES IN CRIMINAL LAW RESEARCH SCANDAL
In December 2015, a serious legal case unfolded at Hull Crown Court involving Kye Larvin, a law student from Hull, who was convicted of possessing and distributing indecent images of children.Larvin, aged 25 and residing on Wingfield Road in east Hull, had initially claimed that his actions were motivated by academic research purposes, but the court ultimately rejected this explanation and sentenced him to a year in prison.
Larvin was enrolled at the University of Hull, where he was studying criminal law.
During the investigation, it was revealed that he had downloaded a total of 52 images, comprising both still photographs and videos, depicting boys in explicit and indecent situations.
Larvin explained to the court that his intention was to use these images as part of a postgraduate thesis focusing on dangerous and sexual offences within criminal law.
He stated that he aimed to interview sex offenders for his research and had sent indecent images to them in an attempt to gain their trust.
He admitted that his approach was naive and foolish, describing it as a very idiotic and stupid decision.
Larvin expressed a desire to understand the mindset of offenders and to compare his findings with existing academic research.
He explained that access to the world of sex offenders is highly restricted and based largely on trust, which led him to believe that he needed to simulate a persona to gain entry.
Larvin said, “It was a very perverse and in many ways evil thing, but it was all I had at my disposal.” Despite his claims of research intent, Larvin was fully aware that downloading and sharing such images was illegal.
The court heard that he had alerted police to the distribution aspect of his offending, indicating some level of remorse or awareness of the severity of his actions.
He also told officers that he had not taken notes during interviews with sex offenders because he feared the evidence would be seized and he would lose the material necessary for his research.
Larvin explained, “Because it is evidence to a crime, it would have been destroyed and confiscated by police, and I didn’t want that to happen.
If I wanted to follow on research at a university level I wouldn’t be able to use it.
All this would have been for nothing.” However, the court was not convinced by Larvin’s justification.
Judge Mark Bury dismissed his claims and sentenced him to 12 months in prison.
The judge criticized Larvin for lying in court, stating, “You have stood in the witness box and lied your head off.
Even though you knew full well that what you were doing was illegal but you nevertheless continued to do it.” Judge Bury further pointed out that Larvin had never discussed his research intentions with any supervisor, emphasizing that his actions were driven by personal sexual desires rather than academic pursuits.
The judge remarked, “You sent images to others on the understanding you were trying to get into the closed world of paedophilia.
I consider it was fulfilling your sexual desires.” In addition to his prison sentence, Larvin was issued a sexual harm prevention order and will be listed on the sex offenders register for the next ten years, marking a significant legal consequence for his actions in Hull.
