Former youth football coach convicted of possessing indecent images of children.

Former Isle of Wight Youth Football Coach Sentenced for Possessing Child Abuse Images

Reece Simon Anderson, 23, of Vectis Road in East Cowes, was sentenced at Southampton Crown Court on Friday after pleading guilty to three counts of possessing indecent photographs/pseudo-photographs of a child. The charges involved 25 Category A, 117 Category B, and 16 Category C images, as well as 13 Category A videos.

Police arrested Anderson at his accommodation in Southampton in October 2021. An examination of his devices uncovered over 170 indecent images and videos of varying severity. Anderson had been involved in youth football as a coach since September 2018, qualifying as an FA Level 1 coach in January 2020. He was studying Football Studies (BA) at Solent University with an interest in youth development and aspirations to become an academy manager.

Following his conviction, Anderson has been barred from working with children. Recorder Gordon Bebb KC sentenced him to a 6-month prison sentence, suspended for 18 months, and placed him on the sex offenders register for 7 years.

Anderson is also subject to a 7-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order and has been ordered to complete a Horizon programme with 25 rehabilitation days. His devices will be destroyed.