Man who abused a toddler sought out jobs where he'd have access to children.

A 24-year-old American national, Keats Harvey, has been convicted of 14 counts of child sexual abuse after a National Crime Agency (NCA) investigation.

Harvey was found guilty of grooming and sexually assaulting four children, the youngest of whom was a toddler. He was arrested by NCA officers at his home in West Wittering, Chichester, in May 2020.

Harvey was discovered to have a collection of almost 9,000 indecent images of children and 630 prohibited images on his electronic devices, which he had accumulated between 2015 and 2020. These included 860 category A images (the most severe), 1,290 category B, and 6,984 category C.

The NCA uncovered numerous chat logs and emails in which Harvey had exchanged these images with other individuals of similar interests. He also admitted to molesting three young children. Investigators subsequently identified four victims who had been abused by Harvey, all under ten years old. These victims have since been safeguarded.

Harvey met his victims through other adults he knew and assaulted one of the children at a party. He also made repeated attempts to meet and abuse children by befriending vulnerable adults with children and applying for jobs in places where he could have access to children, including hospitals and nurseries.

During their investigation into Harvey, NCA officers identified another American national who they suspected had sexually abused an eleven-year-old boy. Intelligence was shared with US authorities based in Seattle, resulting in the arrest of the man, a teacher, and the safeguarding of the child.

At Hove Crown Court on July 29, 2021, Harvey was found guilty of six counts of possessing indecent images of children (categories A-C), two counts of possessing prohibited images, two counts of taking and one of distributing an indecent photo of a child, two counts of assaulting a child under 13 by touching, and meeting a girl under 16 following grooming. He will be sentenced at the same court on October 8, 2021.

Peter Stevens, Branch Commander at the NCA, stated: "Keats Harvey was conducting very serious offending, not just online but by physically abusing young children. He was actively trying to befriend adults who had children and had researched jobs on the internet, at hospitals and nurseries, all with the aim of gaining access to children. In my view, he is an offender whose behavior was escalating in terms of the severity of the offending he was trying to commit."

Stevens added: "Prosecuting individuals like Harvey who pose a sexual risk to children is a priority for the NCA. My team worked tirelessly, with support from the Crown Prosecution Service, analyzing reams of particularly disturbing material to build the case against him and ensure he would face justice. We also worked closely with policing partners to identify offenders and safeguard victims. In this case, Sussex and Hampshire Police provided significant support to the investigation."