By Tony O’Riley-
A man from Manchester who owned and distributed a large number of horrific sexual images of children has had his sentence increased, following intervention by the Solicitor General, the Rt Hon Michael Ellis QC MP.
Haitch Macklin, 38, was found to be in possession of over 2,000 indecent images of children, after police searched his home in April 2018. After being released under investigation, the offender continued to engage in illegal activity.
Macklin used a number of different online profiles, including one named ‘UK Perv’.
Cops raided Macklin’s home in April 2018 and recovered items including an iPhone, a laptop and hard drives, prosecutor Justin Hayhoe said.
The items were found to contain 2,196 indecent images of children, of which 680 were the most serious category A images.
Many of the images were ‘inaccessible’, but they featured children aged from as young as 12-months-old to 15-years-old.
Macklin had also been engaging with ‘obscene’ conversations with other paedophiles online
Macklin was originally sentenced to 20 months’ imprisonment for possessing and distributing child pornography at Manchester Crown Court. Following the Solicitor General’s intervention under the Unduly Lenient Sentence Scheme, the Court of Appeal today increased his sentence to 4 years’ imprisonment.
Speaking after the hearing, the Solicitor General, the Rt Hon Michael Ellis QC MP said:
“The extent of Haitch Macklin’s involvement in this grossly abhorrent distribution of child pornography is sickening. I am pleased that the Court has found his sentence to be unduly lenient and decided to increase it.”
Image: Greater Manchester Police