A man appeared at Harrogate Magistrates Court on Thursday (July 31) accused of seven offences.

Benjamin Addyman, who lives in the Pateley Bridge area, is charged with three counts of making an indecent photograph or pseudo-photograph of a child.

He faces one charge of possessing an extreme pornographic image or images portraying an act of intercourse or oral sex with a dead or alive animal, and three counts of distributing an indecent photograph or pseudo-photograph of a child.

Court documents allege the images fell into categories A, B and C — category A being the most extreme.

Mr Addyman, 20, is accused of possessing 523 extreme pornographic images portraying a person performing an act of intercourse with a dead or alive animal between 2019 and 2023.

Between 2017 and 2023, Mr Addyman allegedly made 437 still images and 61 moving images — all alleged to be of category A — of a child.

Within the same timeframe, he is alleged to have made 478 category B still images and 33 category B moving images of a child.

According to court documents, Mr Addyman also allegedly made 597 still images and six moving images of a child, which fell into category C, between 2018 and 2023. 

The defendant is also accused of distributing 15 still images and 12 moving images of a child, which are alleged to be of category A, in December 2022.

During the same month, he allegedly distributed 12 still images and three moving images of a child — all allegedly falling into category B.

Court documents also allege between November and December 2022, Mr Addyman distributed three still images and one moving image of a child, which are alleged to be category C images.

The case was transferred to York Crown Court, where Mr Addyman will next appear on September 1.