Richard Martin Spry: Grant Harden’s ex-lover pleads guilty to possessing child abuse material

The ex-lover of a convicted paedophile and former junior soccer coach was caught with nearly 800 videos and pictures of child abuse material in folders named “young boys” and “stalking Grant”.

An airconditioner worker who was in a sexual relationship with convicted paedophile Grant Harden was caught with nearly 800 videos and images of child sex abuse, much of which was sent by his heinous ex-lover, court documents reveal.

Richard Martin Spry’s Glenwood home was searched on May 8, 2020 — under an investigation into Australia’s largest online child abuse ring — the same day ex-soccer coach Harden was also busted.

According to facts tendered to Penrith Local Court, police found and seized a rack-mounted computer in Spry’s garage which had 566 images and 224 videos of child abuse material.

Nearly 100 videos and 15 images were of penetrative sexual activity between children or adults and children, 11 images and 6 videos included either sadism, humiliation or bestiality and 57 images were of animated or virtual children engaged in sexual poses or activity, the facts read.

The material was found in various zip folders titled “young boys”, “sweet guys”, “catfished”, “Fun”,“ Young Boys”,“ BOYS PICS AND VIDS” and “stalking Grant”.

Richard Spry (L) and Grant Harden (R)

The latter folder contained images and videos of Grant Harden naked in the shower with a child known to Spry and of the same child naked on a lounge playing PlayStation.

When asked about the material, 50-year-old Spry told police he hadn’t used the computer in several years.

Spry pleaded guilty to possessing child abuse material.

He said Harden sent him child abuse material of a child known to him, “but not a lot”, and that he didn’t object to the photos.

According to the facts, he used Snapchat to communicate with Grant by text, and received images of the child and of Grant through the chat platform.

Spry, who had no prior convictions and worked as an airconditioning installer, admitted to being in “close sexual relationship with Harden” and spent significant amount of time with him.

Spry is due to be sentenced at Fairfield Local Court on October 28.

In March, Harden was jailed in the Downing Centre District Court for 30 years with a minimum of 22 years for abusing seven children aged between five and eight, as well as sending and receiving mountains of child abuse material.

He had pleaded guilty to 179 offences last July.

The court earlier heard Harden often drugged his victims at what he bragged to fellow paedophiles as “sex party sleepovers” and at one point bragged about assaulting a child at a hospital.

The former soccer coach from St Clair’s in Sydney’s southwest received the longest punishment out of all the men arrested under Operation Arkstone: Australia’s largest child abuse investigation.

Coming soon — Inside Arkstone: An in-depth four-part series into Australia’s largest online paedophile ring