EASTLEIGH MAN ZACHARY MOCKFORD SENTENCED FOR CHILD INDECENT IMAGES AND BESTIALITY VIDEOS AT SOUTHAMPTON CROWN COURT

Zachary Mockford, a resident of Eastleigh, was found to have solicited indecent images and videos of children from an internet chat room, a court was told. Mockford, 24, used an anonymous chat platform to search for individuals willing to send him images, some depicting children as young as four being sexually abused.

When law enforcement became aware of his activities, they conducted a search of his computer and discovered over 200 videos along with hundreds of illegal images. Among these were more than 50 videos of bestiality, showing humans engaging in sexual acts with various animals.

Prosecutor Simon Wiltshire told Southampton Crown Court that police visited Mockford at his home on Cranbury Road, Eastleigh. A forensic review of his laptop revealed 222 videos, nearly half of which were classified as the most severe category-A indecent images. Officers also found more than 100 still images of an indecent nature and 103 images depicting bestiality, both videos and photos.

Mockford pleaded guilty to three counts of possessing indecent images and one count of producing extreme images related to the bestiality content.

Judge Gary Burrell sentenced Mockford to a nine-month prison term, suspended for two years. The judge stated, "You now know that these are real children being abused in real life. Some of the videos show children as young as four being abused. They must have been suffering both physically and mentally."

Additionally, Mockford was issued a five-year sexual harm prevention order and will be required to register as a sex offender for the next ten years.