Man Jailed for Five Years Over Child Abuse Images After Hove Crown Court Trial
Mark Grindon was jailed for five years and four months at Hove Crown Court. Credit: Sussex Police
A 42-year-old man from Mannings Heath has been jailed for breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and making indecent images of children.
Mark Grindon, of Swallowfield Close, Mannings Heath, Horsham, has been jailed for five years and four months for multiple breaches of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and making indecent images of children.
The order had been imposed on Grindon in October 2016, when he was sentenced for six counts of making indecent images of children. It was later amended and the order was put in place indefinitely in December 2019, after he was convicted of further offences.
Grindon was arrested in December 2023 during a vehicle stop following information of suspected further breaches, and he was found to be in possession of a smartphone prohibited by the Sexual Harm Prevention Order.
He was swiftly charged the next day with two counts of breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and after appearing at Crawley Magistrates' Court, he was remanded into custody. He pleaded guilty at Lewes Crown Court and on 7 March 2024 he was sentenced to 20 months imprisonment.
Further offences uncovered
Officers proceeded to conduct a complex investigation into the digital devices seized and uncovered more than 1,400 indecent images of children and 11 social media accounts, created under the alias 'Bob' and 'Ricard'. He was arrested in August 2025.
During a search of an address in Mannings Heath an additional smartphone, laptop, multiple SD cards and a TV streaming device were found and seized.
He was charged with three counts of making an indecent photograph or pseudo-photograph of a child, 16 counts of breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, and two counts of failing to comply with sex offender register notification requirements, on the same day.
Grindon appeared the next day at Crawley Magistrates' Court and he was remanded in custody.
Sentenced at Hove Crown Court
Hove Crown Court, Lansdowne Road, Hove, where Grindon was sentenced on 18 September.
He appeared at Hove Crown Court on 14 September 2026, charged with six breaches of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, three counts of making indecent images of children and failing to notify. He pleaded guilty to five breaches and elected to go on trial for one breach of SHPO, three counts of making indecent images and one count of failing to notify.
He was found guilty of the five offences on 18 September and the judge sentenced him to five years imprisonment for all 10 offences.
At a further hearing at Crawley Magistrates' Court on 28 September, Grindon was given a further four months prison sentence for failing to comply with a court order which required him to provide all pins, passwords and patterns to his devices.
Detective Sergeant Melanie Pyle said:
"The magnitude of Grindon's offending and disregard for the harm he has caused cannot be underestimated. Each one of the many images in his possession depicts sexual abuse against a real child. I am pleased to see Grindon held accountable for his deplorable offences."
Read the Sussex Police statement →
Read more from ImJustBrighton
Two Men Charged After Reported Sexual Assault of Two Girls in Crawley → Three Charged, Two Remanded Over Hove Pub Shooting on Montgomery Street → Investigation Into Deaths of Three Sisters Off Brighton Beach Concludes as Inquest Resumes Today →