An online predator paid thousands of pounds for indecent images of children.

Laurence Harvey, of Searles View in Horsham, sent £46,467 to people in the Philippines linked to child sexual exploitation between September 2, 2011, and August 9, 2021.

Harvey would communicate directly with the children and ask them to perform sexual acts, and in one instance sent a woman money in return for indecent images of a child she claimed was her daughter.

He claimed the money was sent for charitable purposes, or to adults he had met on the internet in return for online sex acts.

The 65-year-old was arrested in May, 2022, and several devices were seized and found to contain sexual images and communications with children.

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He was subsequently charged with arranging the commission of a child sex offence, possession of an indecent photograph of a child, two counts making an indecent photograph of a child and two counts of arranging the sexual exploitation of a child under 13.

He pleaded guilty to all charges and, at Lewes Crown Court on August 6, he was sentenced to 56 months in prison and given a ten-year sexual harm prevention order severely restricting his use of digital devices, the internet and travel to the Philippines.

Detective Sergeant David Rose said: “Laurence Harvey is an online predator, who sought out children and vulnerable people to exploit in the most appalling ways.

“The vast sums of money he was willing to spend over a ten-year period point to a committed offender, who showed no regard for the devastating impact of his crimes on these innocent children and his families.

“This was a complex investigation, but thanks to the hard work of the Online Child Abuse Team we have been able to bring a dangerous individual to justice and put him behind bars where he can cause no further harm to the public.”