Hampshire man jailed after sexually assaulting six-year-old child

By Sophie Lewis
Published 5th May 2023, 10:57 BST
Updated 5th May 2023, 13:02 BST
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A man has been jailed for over five years following a sexual assault on a young girl and taking indecent images of another child.

John Shannon, 58, was arrested by the National Crime Agency in September 2022, after investigators identified a woman who they believed had been the victim of child sexual abuse.

Enquiries established that in 2010, Shannon had sexually assaulted her when she was six years old.

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He was released on conditional bail and NCA officers seized his phone and laptop for analysis. Child abuse material was recovered, including a category A video and 13 category C images of a man and a child.

A man from Southampton who sexually assaulted a young girl and took indecent images of another child has been jailed for five-and-a-half-years. Pictured: John ShannonA man from Southampton who sexually assaulted a young girl and took indecent images of another child has been jailed for five-and-a-half-years. Pictured: John Shannon
A man from Southampton who sexually assaulted a young girl and took indecent images of another child has been jailed for five-and-a-half-years. Pictured: John Shannon

Investigators were able to identify that it was Shannon in the photos and that he had taken the images himself.

They found that he had also travelled to the location where the indecent photographs of the child were taken.

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The child in the images, who was a ten-year-old girl, was identified and has been safeguarded.

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Graham Clare, from the National Crime Agency, said: ‘Shannon was a repeat offender who clearly has a sexual interest in young girls.

‘Having felt he had got away with assaulting one child, he went on to take sexualised images of another 12 years later.’

He was re-arrested in December 2022 and charged further in relation to the additional offences mentioned.

Shannon pleaded guilty to five offences including the sexual assault of a child under 13, taking and possessing indecent images of children in categories A and C, and possession of an extreme pornographic image at Southampton Crown Court earlier this year.

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On Thursday he was sentenced to five years and six months in prison and he will be subject to an indefinite sexual harm prevention order.

Mr Clare added: ‘I commend the young woman in this case who showed great bravery in speaking out against him and helping to ensure he was put behind bars.

‘Protecting the public, especially children, is the National Crime Agency’s top priority. We will continue to ensure those seeking to harm them are identified and jailed for their crimes.’