Ardian Mason, then aged 28, of London Road, Retford, Nottinghamshire, was sentenced to an extended sentence of 12 years at Nottingham Crown Court on Wednesday, 26 August 2026, after pleading guilty to 15 offences involving child abuse imagery and the sexual exploitation of a 13-year-old girl.
The investigation was launched by Nottinghamshire Police’s Internet Child Sexual Exploitation Team after Mason uploaded illicit material via an online messaging platform, leading to his arrest on 3 December 2024.
During initial police interviews, Mason admitted seeing abusive content on the application and acknowledged transferring links to a secure storage folder.
Digital forensic examiners searched Mason’s mobile telephone and uncovered more than 1,000 Category A images—the most severe classification, depicting the sexual abuse and rape of babies and children.
Investigators also identified more than 1,000 Category B and C images, over 100 extreme pornographic images involving bestiality, and communications proving he had groomed and exploited a 13-year-old girl.
The court heard that Mason had also distributed some of the child abuse imagery to an adult woman he met online while using an assumed name.
Appearing before Nottingham Crown Court, Mason entered guilty pleas to:
- Six counts of causing or inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity
- Two counts of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child
- Five counts of distributing an indecent photograph of a child
- One count of possessing an indecent photograph of a child
- One count of possessing an extreme pornographic image
Detective Constable Sarah Stonley condemned Mason as a calculating offender who posed a clear danger to children.
The presiding judge handed Mason an extended sentence of 12 years, comprising nine years’ imprisonment in custody (108 months) and an extended licence period of three years (36 months).
The court also made Mason subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) tightly restricting his internet access and contact with children, alongside an indefinite restraining order protecting the victim.
Release Calculation: Under UK sentencing legislation governing extended determinate sentences for serious sexual offenders, Mason is not eligible for automatic statutory release. He is required to serve two-thirds (72 months / 6 years) of his nine-year custodial term in prison before becoming eligible to apply for parole. His earliest parole review date is August 2032. If granted release on licence by the Parole Board, Mason will remain subject to strict licence conditions and supervision in the community until the expiration of the full 12-year extended sentence in August 2038.
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