A Horsham man has been sentenced to 56 months in prison after repeatedly sending large sums of money to individuals in the Philippines in exchange for indecent images of children.
Laurence Harvey, 65, of Searles View, Horsham, was found to have sent a total of £46,467 to various people linked to child sexual exploitation between September 2, 2011, and August 9, 2021. His activities came to light when he was arrested in May 2022, leading to the seizure of several devices that contained explicit images and communications with children.
Investigations revealed that Harvey had been directly communicating with children, coercing them into performing sexual acts. In one particularly egregious instance, he sent money to a woman who provided him with indecent images of a child she claimed was her daughter.
Despite Harvey’s claims that the money was intended for charitable purposes or for online sexual activities with adults, the evidence against him was overwhelming. He was subsequently charged with arranging the commission of a child sex offence, possession of an indecent photograph of a child, two counts of making an indecent photograph of a child, and two counts of arranging the sexual exploitation of a child under 13.
Harvey pleaded guilty to all charges and, on August 6 at Lewes Crown Court, was sentenced to 56 months in prison. Additionally, he was handed a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order, which imposes severe restrictions on his use of digital devices, access to the internet, and travel to the Philippines.
Detective Sergeant David Rose commented on the case, saying, “Laurence Harvey is an online predator, who sought out children and vulnerable people to exploit in the most appalling ways. The vast sums of money he was willing to spend over a ten-year period point to a committed offender, who showed no regard for the devastating impact of his crimes on these innocent children and their families.”
He continued, “This was a complex investigation, but thanks to the hard work of the Online Child Abuse Team, we have been able to bring a dangerous individual to justice and put him behind bars where he can cause no further harm to the public.”
