SEAN WARD FROM HAWICK INVOLVED IN CHILD PORNOGRAPHY AND SEXUAL EXPLOITATION CASES

In July 2021, a disturbing case emerged involving Sean Ward, a resident of Hawick, who was accused of engaging in heinous acts of child exploitation and possession of indecent images. The allegations detailed that Ward, aged 24, targeted a young girl, only nine years old, through social media platforms, specifically Instagram, where he used an account named Sean Jay Ward1996 to initiate contact.

According to court reports, the incident took place at Ward's residence on High Street in Hawick on November 14. It was during this encounter that Ward deliberately sent the young girl a series of indecent images depicting naked women. These images were part of a disturbing pattern where Ward not only shared explicit content but also requested the girl to send him photographs of herself engaged in sexual acts, despite her tender age.

Depute fiscal Miriam Clark provided detailed testimony during the court proceedings, revealing that at approximately 10:58 a.m. on a Saturday, Ward contacted the girl via Instagram. The account used by Ward was identified as Sean Jay Ward1996, a platform that allows strangers to communicate. Initially, Ward's messages were seemingly innocent but quickly escalated to requests for explicit images. He began by asking the girl to send pictures of herself, then proceeded to send her photographs of adult women in pornographic poses, urging her to imitate them and send similar images back.

Ms. Clark explained that Ward's persistent messaging included bombarding the girl with explicit images and encouraging her to participate in sexual activities. Despite her young age, the girl responded by sending Ward an intimate photograph of herself. Throughout this exchange, Ward continued to make inappropriate comments, such as: “Yes, keep doing that.”

In addition to the images, there was a video chat between Ward and the young girl, during which explicit content was exchanged. The court was informed that the total amount of material shared included 31 images, two videos, and one video call. The case came to light when the girl’s mother discovered the content on her child's phone. She checked the device but found the material too distressing to view fully.

Sean Ward appeared in court from custody and was granted bail under strict conditions. These conditions included regular signing at Hawick Police Station and other restrictions aimed at preventing further offenses. It was also revealed that Ward had a prior conviction from 2017 for possessing indecent images of children. For that offense, he was ordered to complete 100 hours of unpaid work and was placed on a two-year supervision order.

The court deferred sentencing until August 16 to allow for the preparation of a Criminal Justice Social Work Report and an assessment for a Restriction of Liberty Order, which was scheduled to be completed by June 16. Additionally, the Crown successfully applied for the forfeiture of Ward’s phone, which was used in the commission of the offenses.

In a related case from June 2017, Ward, then 20 years old, was convicted of downloading four indecent images of children at Dovemount Place, Hawick. He was sentenced to 100 hours of unpaid work, a two-year community payback order, and was placed on the sex offenders register for the same period. Sheriff Kevin Drummond noted that due to the small number of images and Ward’s status as a first-time offender, a community-based sentence was deemed appropriate. Ward was also prohibited from accessing internet-enabled devices without prior approval from his supervising officer.