69yo man sentenced to 13-and-a-half years for child rape and possessing 17,000 child abuse images

A 69-year-old man in England has been jailed for 13 years and six months after being convicted of sexual abuse of a minor.

Andrew Sharp, of Station Road in Lydd, Romney Marsh, was sentenced at Canterbury Crown Court on Friday, June 19, according to Kent Police. Detectives in Kent recovered more than 17,000 child abuse images from his digital devices and established that he had sexually abused a young girl over four years. The court also imposed a 20-year restraining order to protect his victim, along with a Sexual Harm Prevention Order of the same length.

Kent Police claimed that the case began in 2026, when Sharp uploaded an indecent image of a child to the internet. The activity was quickly flagged to the force, which obtained a warrant for his Lydd property and seized his internet-enabled devices in June 2025.

Sharp was abroad when officers executed the warrant, but was notified that his digital assets had been taken. Forensic specialists who examined one of the seized laptops found child sexual abuse material stored on it.

“At no stage during the investigation did Sharp show any remorse”

According to the force, Sharp messaged a contact on his phone after returning to the country, confessing that he possessed indecent images and that he had taken such images of a young girl. 

He was arrested on June 21, 2025, and during his interview admitted to the material on his laptop and to abusing a girl over the course of four years. He was initially charged with sexual assault and two indecent image offenses before being remanded in custody.

When Sharp was on remand, detectives recovered further laptops linked to him. Kent Police said the additional devices held thousands of child abuse images, as well as hundreds of pictures of his young victim, which gave investigators reason to believe she had been raped. 

A full forensic review placed the total at 17,382 indecent images of children. KentOnline reported that 1,300 of those images were graded Category A, the most serious classification.

Detective Constable Andrew Hunter said in a statement issued by Kent Police that “at no stage during the investigation did Sharp show any remorse” for the abuse he inflicted or for possessing the images. 

If you or someone you know has been affected by sexual abuse or violence, support is available. The RAINN National Sexual Assault Hotline offers free, confidential 24/7 support at 1-800-656-4673 (1-800-656-HOPE), and the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline can be reached at 1-800-422-4453.