Appearing at York Crown Court today, 25-year-old Jordan Leigh Courtney, currently of no fixed address but formerly of Cawder Road, Skipton, was jailed for four years and given an extended licence of two years. He was also made the subject of an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

After being found guilty in 2016 of making and distributing indecent images of children, Courtney was prohibited from carrying or possessing any device which accessed the internet. He was also ordered to register weekly at a police station, so officers could monitor his whereabouts.

In April 2022, following an offender management meeting, it was found that Courtney had deleted data from a mobile phone. Officers immediately seized the phone and it was analysed by North Yorkshire Police’s Digital Forensic Unit, who found numerous indecent images of children, some of which were classed as the most extreme category A images. In June 2022, he was returned to prison for breach of his Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Due to the nature of the offences, while in prison, officers conducted a search of Courtney’s former home address and another undeclared phone, containing more disturbing category A images and video footage was found.

On his release from prison, Courtney was immediately arrested. When questioned and presented with the digital evidence, he pleaded guilty to four charges of breaching his sexual harm prevention order, six charges of making indecent images of children, four charges of possessing prohibited and extreme images and two charges of distributing category A images.

Speaking following the sentencing today, Detective Constable Tom Sutcliffe from our Online Abuse and Exploitation Team said:

“Courtney showed utter disregard for the restrictions placed upon him by being in possession of these images. He has repeated ignored the courts and has gone on to amass and share the most disturbing content. Those who obtain and distribute child abuse material directly contribute to the sexual exploitation of children. This is because the children involved are continually re-victimised every time the images are viewed.

“Thanks to the expertise of North Yorkshire Police’s Digital Forensic Unit and the dedication of the investigating officers, Courtney could not deny the charges put against him, and the evidence they uncovered has put him where he deserves to be – behind bars.

“This sentence should send a clear message that we can and will track down anyone involved in downloading or distributing indecent images of children and will use our expertise to uncover the digital evidence that will lead to a conviction.

“We are currently working with agencies around the world to attempt to identify and safeguard the children in the images that Courtney had gathered and shared.”