A man from South Yorkshire has today, Friday May 26, been found guilty of a terrorism offence at Sheffield Crown Court.
Ashley Podsiad Sharp (17/09/1980) (also known as Ashley Neil Sharp) from Barnsley has been found guilty of one offence of Possessing a document which may be of use to a terrorist, contrary to Section 58 of the Terrorism Act 2000.
He will be sentenced on July 21, 2023.
The defendant was charged by Counter Terrorism Policing North East in October 2022. He was arrested in June that year following the discovery of concerning material he had posted in connection with an online athletics club.
Detective Chief Superintendent James Dunkerley is Head of Counter Terrorism Policing North East. He said: “Tackling extremist and instructional material is an essential part of protecting the public and preventing it from potentially influencing or informing the actions of others.”
“We will prosecute anyone found to be in possession of such material and will continue work with our partners to remove content of concern from online platforms.
“We’d urge anyone who sees extremist content online to report their concerns to police by completing the confidential form at gov.uk/ACT, or by calling police in confidence on 0800 789321.”