Ian Anthony Harris

Ian Anthony Harris, a 52-year-old man from Swansea, has a notorious criminal history that includes the brutal murder of his ex-girlfriend in 1988. After ending their relationship, Harris visited Mandy Jackson's flat in the Uplands area of Swansea, poured petrol over her as she was making a cup of tea, and set her alight with a match. Police discovered her charred body beside the kitchen table, and Harris was subsequently convicted of murder, receiving a life sentence. He served 17 years in prison before being released in 2006.

Following his release, Harris attempted to rebuild his life, entering a new relationship and working for six years as a greenskeeper at a Swansea golf course. However, in February 2017, officers from the South Wales Police On-line Investigation Team (POLIT) received intelligence about suspicious online activity linked to a computer at his home in the Ravenhill area of Swansea. Although Harris was not at home at the time, police located him at his workplace and escorted him back to the property. A search of his bedroom revealed a desktop computer containing 18 indecent images of children, including one Category A image—the most severe classification. Evidence also showed that Harris had shared a Category B image.

Harris pleaded guilty at Swansea Crown Court to one count of distributing an indecent image of a child and three counts of possession of indecent images. During police interviews, he admitted to downloading the images after engaging in internet sex chatrooms where conversations were 'invariably sexual, and in a variety of forms'. He explained that he uploaded the Category B image at the request of another chatroom participant. Prosecutor Dean Pulling highlighted Harris's extensive criminal record, which included 22 previous offences, notably the murder conviction.

Defence advocate Dan Griffiths noted that Harris, described as a family man, accepted the need to demonstrate to the parole board that he posed no further danger to society. Recorder Ifan Wyn Lloyd, addressing Harris in court, emphasised the gravity of the offences: 'Behind every one of these images there is a child being abused - these are not just images, these are real children being abused so people like you can get some sort of perverted pleasure from viewing them.' The judge described possession of such material as a serious matter.

Harris was sentenced on 27 March 2017 to a total of eight months' imprisonment, recalled to prison immediately following his arrest. He was also placed on the sex offenders register for 10 years and made subject to an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order, restricting his internet access. This case, reported by Wales Online, underscores the ongoing monitoring of high-risk offenders post-release and the vigilance of South Wales Police in tackling online child exploitation.