David Hartley paedophile child sex offender - Market Weighton
David Hartley paedophile child sex offender - Market Weighton

The Market Weighton Paedophile, David Hartley, left a young girl in a vulnerable state experiencing distressing dreams and recurring memories after receiving graphic sexual images from David Hartley. These images caused her to feel profoundly shocked and emotionally shattered, comparing herself to a fragmented piece of glass.

The girl, who was deeply affected by the experience, continuously relived the event in her mind. She later expressed her emotional pain by comparing it to a devastating force that shattered her heart. According to the Hull Crown Court, she experienced a strong feeling of disgust and embarrassment due to his extremely repulsive attitude. As a result, she cried continuously for several hours as a result of her traumatic experience.

David Hartley, a 29-year-old resident of Sandfield Close, Market Weighton, confessed to participating in sexual communication with a minor from June 14 to August 22, 2022.

According to Michael Masson, the prosecutor, David Hartley used Snapchat to send communications to a young girl, including explicit photographs of himself. The girl experienced a state of intense surprise and emotional disturbance upon viewing the explicit photographs, prompting her to inform her mother.

“The matter was ultimately reported to the police,” said Mr Masson. The girl was interviewed and revealed to police that Hartley had told her: “This could be mine and your secret. This could live in your head rent-free.”

There had been several incidents in which David Hartley would make joking comments about the girl’s body, and he seemed to be inappropriately close to her. “They were constantly messaging each other,” said Mr Masson.

During a police interview, David Hartley initially denied that he ever sent intimate pictures of himself to the girl, but he later admitted that messages were sent as well as the pictures. He had no previous convictions.

The girl later said in a statement addressed directly to David Hartley: “My life has changed since I reported you. I have been mentally struggling. I felt like a broken piece of glass. I shouted for it not to be real.

“I never realised the impact that it has caused. I cried for hours on end. I could not emotionally understand or process what was going on.”

The girl was scared about seeing David Hartley as she was walking to school, and she suffered flashbacks. “I didn’t go out much as I felt safe at home,” she said. She was “replaying” what happened “over and over again” and felt ashamed.

“I would have nightmares of you being angry because you wanted it to be kept a secret,” she said. The girl felt “disgusted and uncomfortable” with what David Hartley did and struggled around men.

“These past two years have changed a lot for me,” she said. “I struggle to make new friends again because I can’t trust anyone. You broke that trust. It’s like a wrecking ball through my heart.

“I was just a child. I will never be the same girl I used to be. I will try to fix myself but always ask what I did to deserve this.”

Ben Hammersley, mitigating, said that David Hartley denied that he deliberately targeted the girl to send the messages. “She is, or was at the time, a vulnerable young person,” said Mr Hammersley.

“This was vile behaviour. He expresses deep regret and shame at what happened. It was inappropriate, and it was shameful on his part. He should have been the adult that was expected rather than doing what he did.

“David Hartley did show a level of shame and disgust. Burying his head in the sand was illustrative of that shame and something that the court sees regularly in these types of cases. That rightful sense of shame and disgust is, in some cases, something of a protective factor.”

David Hartley had been in well-paid employment most of his adult life. He had been involved in the scouting movement, the court heard. His partner was expecting their first child in February next year. David Hartley was a low risk of reconviction.

Judge Tahir Khan KC said: “For a short period, he was in denial.” The judge told David Hartley: “She was a child, and you knew that. You carried on being inappropriate to her.

“You would be inappropriate around her.” Judge Khan said of the explicit pictures that David Hartley sent to the girl: “That was wholly inappropriate. She was distraught and did not expect you to behave that way.

“Her life has been turned upside down since she reported the matter to the police. She feared seeing you on the street. She had flashbacks. She isolated herself at home and had flashbacks.

“She was devastated by your behaviour towards her. Her mother did the decent thing, the right thing, and reported the matter to the police. It’s clear that your behaviour towards this vulnerable young lady had a significant impact on her mental health.”

David Hartley was given a 14-month suspended prison sentence, 250 hours’ unpaid work, 30 days’ rehabilitation and a 10-year sexual harm prevention order. He must register as a sex offender for ten years, and he was given a 10-year restraining order.


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