- Evil abuser complained his original sentence was ‘manifestly excessive’
- Sick groomer complains he has been beaten up by other criminals in prison
A vile pedophile and volunteer soccer coach who sexually abused seven boys has had six months shaved off his lengthy prison sentence, with a court hearing he had been attacked in jail forcing authorities to move him to another prison.
Grant Harden, of St Clair in western Sydney, was jailed after he filmed his sexual abuse of seven children and shared the videos online with a pedophile ring.
Harden’s offences were described as ‘extreme’ and the sick child abuse material he produced as being ‘of a most shocking kind’ after he subjected his victims, who were as young as four, to horrific crimes.
He was arrested in May 2020 as part of the AFP’s sweeping sting on a pedophile network before he was ultimately handed a 30-year jail sentence.
After pleading guilty, he was sentenced for two lots of offences.
One was for the rape of the seven young boys and included 26 counts of sexual intercourse with a child under 10 and 35 counts of sexually touching boys under 10.
The court was told that Harden exploited one of his victim’s love of video games and groomed him by offering to buy him ‘skins’ for Fortnite.
Grant Harden, of St Marys, has been attacked by fellow inmates after being founding guilty of the sickening abuse of seven young boys entrusted to his care
The second group of offences included using a carriage service to produce, possess, transmit and advertise child abuse material.
When police seized his phone they found more than 450 videos and images, including material featuring Harden’s abuse and exploitation of the young boys.
His non-parole period was set at 22 years and told he would not be eligible for release until May 2042 when he would be 51.
However, he this year launched an appeal, in part claiming his sentence was ‘manifestly excessive’.
The Court of Criminal Appeal – comprising Justices Natalie Adams, Ian Harrison, Peter Hamill – dismissed two of the three grounds on which he appealed.
Harden gained the trust of the boys and their parents, creating an environment where he could abuse the victims and conceal his offending for his own sexual gratification
‘The possession and distribution of images of sexual abuse, torture and humiliation of very young children, including toddlers and babies constitutes serious offending,’ Justice Adams said in a judgment published on Friday.
She added that Harden had been ‘seeking out more extreme content from those with whom he traded.’
They did find that his sentence was the subject of error because District Court Judge Sarah Huggett was given incorrect details by the prosecution about the maximum penalty for the child abuse material offences.
The mistake at the time was not picked up by Harden’s lawyers either.
In June 2020, the law was changed, increasing the maximum penalty for the offence of transmitting child abuse material using a carriage service from 25 years to 30 years.
However some of Harden’s offending pre-dated the legislation being amended.
Harden was arrested in 2020 as part of the AFP’s crackdown on a pedophile ring
The Court of Criminal Appeal did not find that he should get a lesser sentence for that group of offences.
But they did find there should have been a greater overlap between the two lots of sentences.
His total sentence was reduced down to 29 and a half years, with a 21-year, six-month non-parole period meaning he’ll remain in jail until at least November 7, 2041.
The court was also told Harden had been targeted in jail and last year had to be moved to another prison.
‘He has also been the target of a number of attacks by fellow inmates, the most recent of which resulted in his relocation from Junee Correctional Centre in late 2023,’ Justice Adams said.
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