A 31-year-old man from Cookstown has been sentenced today, Wednesday 13th August 2025, at Laganside Crown Court for a number of child sexual abuse offences which occurred between 2017 until September 2021.

Offences included sexual assault of a child under 13, common assault, rape of a child under 13, and possessing an indecent photograph or pseudo-photograph of a child.

Jason Harkness was sentenced to 13 years in custody. He has been given a Sexual Offences Prevention Order for an indefinite period and was disqualified from working with children indefinitely.

Detective Sergeant Mallon said: “To take a child’s innocence away from them in such an abhorrent way is sickening. Our thoughts are with the victim today, who was only six years old when these offences began.

“We hope that the bravery shown by this victim in coming forward will encourage others who have experienced any form of sexual abuse to come forward to Police.

“Today’s sentencing illustrates that we remain committed to investigating all reports of sexual offences against children and young people, building robust cases to get justice before the courts.

“If you have ever experienced or witnessed any form of sexual abuse we urge you to contact police on 101, or in an emergency call 999. We have specially trained detectives who can help you, no matter when the abuse happened. You don’t have to suffer in silence.”