May 2017 Ipstones pervert, 63, caught with hundreds of child abuse images Pervert Neil Harvey has been forced to quit work after downloading hundreds of child abuse images on his computers. The 63-year-old was arrested after police executed a warrant at his Ipstones home. He was not there but when officers phoned him he immediately admitted he was in possession of indecent images of children and suggested they seized his hard-drive. Police examined the equipment and found 55 still and 299 moving indecent images. Now Harvey has been handed a suspended jail sentence at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court. Prosecutor David Bennett said police executed a search warrant at the defendant’s Ipstones house on August 9. His wife confirmed he was working in London. Mr Bennett said: “Police seized two desktop computers, a laptop, and an external hard-drive. “Police spoke to the defendant on the telephone. He confirmed he was in possession of indecent images of children. He suggested they seized the hard-drive and directed them to its location. “The images were recovered. There was evidence of the defendant searching for indecent images of children.” In total police recovered two still images and 230 moving images at category A – the most serious; 25 stills and 48 movies at category B; and 28 stills and 21 movies at category C. The defendant told police he had been under a great deal of stress three years before his arrest and began searching for indecent images of children out of curiosity. Harvey, now of Lode Lane, Alstonefield, pleaded guilty to six charges of making indecent images of children. Rob Holt, mitigating, said the defendant had taken steps to address his behaviour by attending the Lucy Faithfull Foundation and there has been no repetition of his offending. Mr Holt said: “He was not aware of the greater consequences of his behaviour. He is going to have to hand in his notice at work. He is deeply remorseful, upset and embarrassed.” Judge David Fletcher sentenced Harvey to 12 months in prison, suspended for 24 months, with a rehabilitation activity requirement for 30 days and 120 hours unpaid work. He made the defendant the subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for five years and placed him on the sex offenders’ register for 10 years. Judge Fletcher said: “These are serious offences. Some of these children were very young indeed. “Were it not for people like you, who in the comfort of your own home view this sort of material, these children would not be abused in this way.” Harvey was also ordered to pay £400 costs.