Feb 2011

No jail for child images ex-cop

A FORMER police inspector from Ammanford who stored almost 2,000 indecent images of children on his computer has been spared jail.

Richard Wayne Harris had pleaded guilty but argued that by merely viewing the images he had not actively taken part in child abuse.

Harris, aged 63, of 60 Brynmawr Avenue, a former inspector with Gwent police, first admitted 17 counts of possessing child porn when he appeared before Ammanford magistrates in December.

On that occasion, prosecutor Dennis Davies revealed the images ranged from categories one to five with the latter the most extreme.

But Swansea crown court heard last week that Harrison was re-arrested on January 15 after police seized a laptop computer they had previously been unaware of and 60 further images were found on CDs and a hard drive.

Huw Rees, in mitigation, described Harris as “a broken man”, was so devastated by his conduct that he had attempted suicide at a Swindon hotel.

Imposing a three-year community order, Judge Keith Thomas told Harris the notion he had not contributed to the child industry was “facile”.