Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
‘Disgusting’ baker spared jail over child abuse video
Married dad had been cautioned before
A man caught with a video of a child being sexually tortured has avoided jail despite being warned about his “disgusting” behaviour before.
Baker Robert Harrington tried hiding the harrowing footage but it surfaced when police forensics experts combed through his hard-drive in February.
Officers had raided his Canterbury home following a tip-off that his IP address was downloading illegal material.
As well as the Category A film - the most serious kind - Harrington’s Samsung phone and Asus laptop contained five Category A, five Category B and 33 Category C images. Prosecutors told Canterbury Crown Court how the 44-yearold initially denied accessing the material but pleaded guilty before trial.
It is the second time Harrington, of High Street, Littlebourne, has been caught with sickening images, having been cautioned by police in 2016. Dressed in a dark suit and face mask, he could be seen shaking in the dock as Judge Rupert Lowe handed down a community order.
He told Harrington: “In 2016 you were cautioned for possessing an indecent image of a child.
“You must have known the purpose of that warning was that you mustn’t do it again. “You’re an able man, you are married, you have children, although you are not living with them.
“You’ve had a number of responsible jobs, which you were good at.
“But this is your downfall - surfing the internet for absolutely disgusting videos of the sexual torture of children. “You are one of a number people who have got into this really serious material as well as some less serious material.” Mitigating, Harrington’s barrister said his client was of previous good character before being found with the indecent image in 2016.
Judge Lowe spared Harrington jail and handed him an 18-month community order.
He must attend a rehabilitation program for medium-risk sex offenders and complete 30 probation activity days.
He will also be subjected to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for five years and his mobile phone and laptop will remain confiscated.
The judge added: “These are to assist you getting back on the straight and narrow, rather than looking at pictures of children and torture of children.”