Adam David Bonner, a 19-year-old soldier from Middlesbrough, has been sentenced to three years and four months in a Young Offender Institution after pleading guilty to 11 child sex offences. The sentencing took place at York Crown Court on Wednesday (November 11), following his arrest at his North Yorkshire barracks.
Bonner was arrested after being caught downloading hundreds of indecent images of children while stationed at his previous army barracks in Devon. His offending first came to the attention of North Yorkshire Police's Online Child Abuse Team (OCAT) in March last year, when a computer he was suspected of using to download the images was traced to the Devon barracks.
Arrest and Investigation
Following enquiries to establish his identity, Bonner was arrested at Catterick Garrison on April 16. Detectives and digital forensic experts were able to prove a catalogue of offending that spanned the country where Bonner had been stationed with the Army, including Dorset, Scotland, and his hometown of Middlesbrough.
His offences included making and distributing indecent images of children in categories A, B and C, engaging and attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child, possessing a prohibited image of a child, attempting to cause a girl aged under 13 to engage in sexual activity, attempting to cause a child under 13 to look at an image of sexual activity, and possessing an extreme pornographic image involving an animal.
Sentencing and Protective Measures
In addition to the custodial sentence, Bonner has been placed on the Sex Offenders Register, barred from working with children and vulnerable adults, and handed a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order.
Detective Sergeant Graeme Bevington, from the Online Child Abuse Team, said: "We were able to seize numerous digital devices in Bonner's army quarters which all linked back to him. From the point of his arrest, we were able to quickly establish that he had a large amount of child sexual abuse material in his possession along with extreme images involving a child and another involving an animal."
"We were also able to prove his efforts to engage in sexual communication with children and causing a child to engage in sexual activity. His offending is truly reprehensible, and we are glad that Bonner is now behind bars for a significant period of time," he added. "Crucially, he will be subject to robust public protection measures for the rest of his life."
