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Salisbury Man Who Used a Drone to Follow Schoolchildren Gets Suspended 19-Month Term

A decade-long Sexual Harm Prevention Order bans drones, limits internet use, restricts travel.

Overview

  • Bird, who pleaded guilty at Winchester Crown Court on Tuesday to two counts of making indecent images of children and to recklessly endangering people or property with a drone, received a 19-month prison term suspended for two years.
  • Police said reports in September 2023 described a drone flown over a Salisbury primary school that followed children on the playing fields, plus a man filming pupils during a harvest festival trip.
  • Prosecutors told the court that one drone video showed a child running and crying while being followed.
  • Officers searching his devices found a large cache of indecent images of unknown children, including Category A material, the most serious level in UK law.
  • A 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order now bans him from owning or using drones, limits internet use and travel, and lets officers enter his home for checks.