Harley Grant James Brown sentenced in Warwick District Court for child exploitation material offences

A Warwick man blamed a relapse into drug and alcohol abuse for possessing hundreds of files of child exploitation material, with his depraved online activity exposed in Warwick District Court. Read the judge’s scathing words.

A Warwick man’s online activity has landed him in a prison cell following an appearance in Warwick District Court on Monday.

Harley Grant James Brown pleaded guilty to three charges, including two counts of accessing child exploitation material and one count of possessing child exploitation material.

Crown prosecutor Jennifer O’Brien told the court Brown accessed the material through search engines and peer-to-peer downloading, which was revealed following a forensic evaluation of the man’s electronic devices.

The court was told the 31-year-old man knowingly possessed more than 200 files of the material featuring victims as young as six.

Following his electronics being seized by police, he admitted to owning the laptop and having an “addiction” to pornography.

The Crown told the court Brown had made 58 searches, accessed 71 files and visited 401 websites over a 16 week period.

Ms O’Brien described Brown’s actions as “concerning” and “insidious” and revealed Brown had possessed more than 200 files, some of which were deleted but found by a forensic analysis.

“It is not a victimless crime,” Ms O’Brien said.

Defence lawyer Jessica Goldie told the court that Brown’s actions followed a friend’s death, which caused him to relapse into drugs and alcohol.

It was noted that Brown was the full time carer of his grandmother.

Judge Nathan Jarro was quick to slam Brown, calling his actions “atrocious” as well as “abhorrent and vile”.

“All children deserve protection, and people who commit these offences deserve contempt from the community,” Judge Jarro said.

“These offences are serious and they must stop, a message must be sent to the community.”

Brown was sentenced to two years jail, with a parole eligibility date set at September 30, 2023.

Originally published as Harley Grant James Brown sentenced in Warwick District Court for child exploitation material offences