Latest Offenders

Description

Gordon Henzell, of Jesmond, sexually assaulted two schoolgirls a decade ago but they only reported it after reading he had been trying to communicate sexually with a girl online

Two girls who were sexually assaulted by a pervert a decade ago finally plucked up the courage to report him after reading that he had been caught by paedophile hunters.

For years, Gordon Henzell's sex attacks on girls aged 13 and 14 had remained a secret.

But after they each read a Facebook post about him being caught in a sting operation, they decided to report what he had done to them.

Now Henzell, who tried to get his ex wife to cover for him after his arrest, has been jailed for two sexual assaults and perverting the course of justice.

Newcastle Crown Court heard Henzell had grabbed the 13-year-old round the waist, kissed her neck and tried to kiss her lips and told her she was gorgeous.

The "horrified" victim managed to get away from him.

In a separate attack, he grabbed a 14-year-old's face and tried to kiss her on the lips.

After being arrested and quizzed over the offences, Henzell sent a message to his ex wife within half an hour trying to get her to help him cover his back.

She was suspicious and reported it to police.

Henzell, 54, of Osborne Road, Jesmond, Newcastle, who has the previous conviction from 2020 for attempted sexual communication with a child, pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual assault and perverting the course of justice and was jailed for 15 months. He was also ordered to sign the sex offenders register and will be subject to a sexual harm prevention order, both for ten years.

Peter Byrne, defending, said his risk of re-offending is low, there is a "good chance of rehabilitation", he pleaded guilty and that he will lose his accommodation due to being imprisoned.

Description

A drunken beggar groped a mum-of-two on her own doorstep in a bizarre assault after he stopped at her door to ask for directions to the train station or bus stop.

The woman had shielded her young daughter from creep Andrei Sandu after he knocked on her front door in Wheatley on December 6, 2020.

An attempt to work out what the Romanian 21-year-old was saying using website Google Translate failed as he is illiterate. When she switched to a voice translation app on her phone the struggles continued.

He was said to have reached forward to touch her thigh as if removing a piece of fluff from her clothing. Later in the exchange he groped the woman over her clothes and in front of her young daughter.

Mitigating, Peter du Feu told Oxford Crown Court on Thursday: My first question to him in the cells today was do you want to be deported?

He didnt answer that question but instead said: I am guilty, I am a stupid, guilty man. I have done it and I am very sorry.

Jailing him for 18 months, Recorder John Hardy QC told Sandu: Your counsel with characteristic eloquence accepts that your behaviour was bizarre and inexplicable and no doubt fuelled by drink.

But the effect it had on this young mother was to destroy her trust not only in you but in others and to make her reluctant to talk to or speak kindly to strangers.

The effect of the jail sentence was that Sandu would likely be deported, the judge said.

He told the defendant that judges no longer had the power to direct defendants deportation but added: Had I had that power I would have strongly recommended that you be returned to your home.

The court heard that Sandu grew up in poverty with his six siblings in a two-bedroom home in rural Romania. He was illiterate and, his barrister suggested, might have learning difficulties.

He came to the UK in search of a better life but became homeless. He had done short stints in jail for minor offences in Humberside and Lincolnshire but had no previous convictions for sexual offending.

Mr du Feu said: I wish on his behalf, your honour, I could begin to explain what happened on that night.

He cant explain it. He has relatively little memory of it because he was very intoxicated. That doesnt mitigate the offence. We know, if anything, it makes it worse but it perhaps explains his unusual behaviour.

Sandu, of no fixed address, pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to sexual assault by touching. He will be a registered sex offender for 10 years.

Welcoming the sentence, PC Curtis Emery said: This was an in-depth investigation with an aggrieved who managed to work well with officers at a vital time immediately after the incident.

She gave us valuable information to locate and arrest Sandu, who took advantage of a stranger attempting to help him.

I hope this sentence gives satisfaction and closure to the victim. Although there are no physical injuries to her, no sentence will ever take away the emotional effect.

To have a custodial sentence given to an unwitnessed sexual assault, with no forensic opportunities, is a great achievement and has left the victim feeling extremely relieved at the final decision. Sandu fully deserves the sentence given to him.

This sets an example of the length that Thames Valley Police will go to in order to bring offenders to justice, even in scenarios with very little physical evidence.

Description

A County Durham paedophile who branded himself a "proper perv" has been caged for making and distributing child abuse images.

Lee Aston was found in possession of sickening indecent images when police went to his home on September 15, 2020.

The 40-year-old had vile images and videos stored on a mobile phone and committed the offences between October 2018 and September 2020.

Aston appeared at Durham Crown Court on Tuesday to be sentenced for charges of making and distributing indecent images.

The court heard that police went to his home and seized a Sony mobile phone, which was later found to contain child abuse images and videos.

Aston had 11 images and 56 videos in category A, 49 images and nine videos in category C, and 13 images and 10 videos in category B.

Aston, who had no previous convictions, had also distributed some images and videos to other paedophiles via the Telegram app.

The court heard that conversations were also discovered, where Aston had branded himself a "proper perv".

When arrested, he admitted what he'd done and said he would access the material at home and that some depicted children between the ages of "four and five-years-old".

He also admitted sending abuse images via social media and said what he was doing made him "feel sick".

John Nixon, mitigating, said Aston, of Rowan Court, Spennymoor, had offered an "early guilty plea" and had shown "remorse and regret".

He said when young, Aston's parents had both died and he now suffered from depression and had alcohol issues.

Mr Nixon added that Aston was at a "low risk" of reoffending and had "worked all his life".

Judge James Adkin, the Recorder of Durham, jailed Aston for 18 months and made him subject of a 10-year sexual harm prevention order.

He will also be on the sex offenders' register for 10 years.

Description

A HORSE and carriage rider pulled down his trousers in front of a female garda and said members of the force were "paedophiles" in a tirade of abuse on a city street.

Conor Emmerson (20) also made derogatory remarks about deceased garda when he reacted "completely inappropriately" to being stopped for a search.

Judge Bryan Smyth said Emmerson's behaviour on the day was "more than stupid" and fined him 250 for a public order offence.

Emmerson, of Killala Road, Cabra West, pleaded guilty to threatening, abusive and insulting behaviour.

Dublin District Court heard the incident happened at 8pm on October 30, 2020.

Garda were on duty in the north of the city when they stopped two men who they saw coming out of Henrietta Lane riding a horse and carriage.

The garda said they wanted to carry out a search under the Misuse of Drugs Act and Emerson immediately became aggressive.

He pulled down his trousers and fondled himself in front of a female garda, a garda sergeant told the court.

He also called garda several names including "paedophiles" and made threatening remarks and derogatory comments about deceased members of the force, the court heard.

Emmerson attempted to walk away and was arrested and brought to a garda station, where he said he was sorry and that "it was stupid".

"It was more than stupid," the judge said.

The accused's solicitor Paddy McGarry said Emmerson had suffered traumatic experiences in the past and this was significant in relation to his attitude.

He acknowledged he reacted completely inappropriately on the day, Mr McGarry said.

A letter was submitted to the court from a doctor that Emmerson had attended.

The accused had 19 previous convictions for motoring and other offences.

Description

A convicted child sex attacker who keeps downloading indecent images of children was branded "dangerous".

Patrick Downey, 40, has been in and out of jail for the last two decades because of his twisted perversion.

Last year police caught him with 426 sick photos, including one of a boy aged just four being raped.

Judge Andrew Menary, QC, said: "The offence plainly is bad enough in and of itself, but in your case it's particularly grave, because of your history of this type of behaviour.

"On any view, by any measure, you are plainly someone who has a very serious and unhealthy interest in young children.

"You are, by the strict definition of that word, frankly a paedophile."

Liverpool Crown Court heard police raided Downey's home in Peel Road, Bootle on May 13 last year.

Paul Blasbery, prosecuting, said they seized a Samsung mobile phone, a laptop and a MacBook.

On the devices they discovered 98 Category A images - the most serious category showing child rape - one involving a boy as young as four.

There were 178 Category B images, one involving the abuse of a toddler, and 150 Category C images, one of a boy aged three to four.

Downey admitted three counts of downloading and one count of possessing indecent images of children.

Possessing Category A indecent images has a sentencing range of 26 weeks up to three years in sentencing guidelines.

Downey has 46 previous convictions, which include offences of dishonesty but also multiple sexual offences.

He was put on the Sex Offenders Register in 2003 when he was convicted of gross indecency with a child and indecent images offences.

In 2007 he was hit with a lifelong Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO) after allowing a 16-year-old boy to stay at his home.

He was convicted of downloading indecent images again in 2008, and then again in 2014, when he was also caught distributing them.

On that occasion, Downey, formerly of Wellfield Road, Walton, was found to be a "dangerous offender", as defined in law.

He was jailed for three years, with an extended five years on licence - meaning he was still on licence when he downloaded these latest images.

Downey was jailed for two years and eight months in March 2019, after he lied about his identity to get a job at a Blackpool hotel while on licence.

He had used his husband's name to get the managerial role at the hotel, and a judge pointed out the job "gave him direct access to children

Downey, then 38, was caught out after police learned he had moved from Merseyside without telling them - in breach of notification requirements.

That sixth breach on his record also involved him meeting up with another registered sex offender, while he was at the tourist resort.

John Weate, defending, today said Downey no longer stood by comments he made in a pre-sentence report and took responsibility for the offences.

Mr Weate asked for full credit of one third for his client's early guilty pleas.

He accepted Downey was assessed to be a "high risk" and said he understood the judge might again conclude he was dangerous.

Description

A SEX offender who was caught touching a womans feet on a train told his victim: I bet you wish you had a boyfriend like me.

Samuel Creed, 21, was jailed for more than two years after sexually assaulting two women.

The predator was hit with a criminal behaviour order after he was convicted of a sexual assault carried out at Stowmarket railway station in February 2020.

The order banned him from travelling on the railway network or speaking to any passengers.

But he breached the order under a year later when he approached another woman on a train between Manningtree and Colchester.

In May last year, Creed approached the victim and started speaking to her about her shoes.

The woman ignored him, but he touched her shoes and squeezed her ankle, telling her: I bet you wish you had a boyfriend like me to do this to you at night.

Description

George Chinnery, 22, of Anne of Cleves Road, was previously convicted of one count of raping a boy under the age of 13, and one count of inciting a boy under the age of 13 to engage in sexual activity.

The verdict was delivered at St Albans Crown Court on December 8, 2021, where he was also sentenced on Monday, January 31.

Chinnery committed the offences in 2013, when he was 14-year-old, in the Welwyn Hatfield area of Hertfordshire.

He orally raped the victim when they were alone together in the summer holidays, also forcing them to touch him inappropriately.

The victim felt unable to disclose the abuse to anyone until the summer of 2020, when he told a close family member what happened.

Detective Constable Laurence Harwood, from Hertfordshire Constabulary’s Joint Child Protection Investigation Team, said: “The victim in this case has suffered unimaginably due to Chinnery’s abhorrent actions, and it has negatively impacted his mental health for nearly ten years.

“Following support from mental health practitioners, in mid-2020 the victim finally felt able to tell someone he trusted about what Chinnery had done to him.

“However, the defendant denied all the allegations, meaning the victim was subjected to cross-examination by the defence during the seven-day trial.

“This, understandably, caused him and his family an indescribable amount of emotional distress but they showed nothing but honesty, dignity and true emotion throughout.

“My team and I have been humbled by the victim’s courage and we hope this result will enable him to have closure, so he can move forward and rebuild his life.

“Chinnery has never shown any remorse for his perverted crimes.

“We will always do everything we can to convict perpetrators and support victims of child sexual abuse.

“While we are pleased to have achieved this result, it sadly does not lessen the effect of the trauma suffered by the victim in the wake of the abuse he endured.

“I wish him and his family all the very best for the future, and I hope they can find some peace.”

Chinnery will be on the Sex Offenders’ Register indefinitely and has been ordered to not go within five miles of the victim’s home. On his release, he will remain on licence for seven years.

Description

VILE paedophile Colin Blanchard is set to spend "two more years behind bars", insiders say.

The sex monster went before a Parole Board meeting last month to beg for his freedom - telling bosses hed wear an electronic tag and undergo regular lie detector tests to curb his movements.

But the hearing overran because of the weight of information on the disturbing case and was adjourned to a date to be set over the next few weeks.

Now we can reveal that sources believe Blanchard, 51, will not be granted freedom once the reconvened hearing is concluded.

Offenders can only appear before a Parole Board every two years.

Our source claimed: Blanchard has got no chance of freedom. And of debate. He will spend two more years banged up before his next shot at freedom.

This is first Parole Board hearing but hes likely to have to appear at a couple more before hes deemed ready for release.

The bottom line is that his offences are just too serious for him to be granted parole at the first attempt.

His release into the community would be managed by dozens of limitations like lie detector tests and a tag but even so, Blanchard would remain a danger to the community.

A spokesman for the Parole Board confirmed that a date for the adjourned hearing would be set in due course.

Blanchard - the ringleader of a paedophile gang who convinced a nursery worker to abuse tots in her care was referred to the Parole Board for potential release in 2020 after serving his minimum nine years in prison for running one of the most sickening paedophile rings this country has seen.

But parole chiefs deemed him not ready for freedom without even holding a hearing and instead they ordered that Blanchard must complete another course in jail designed to prevent re-offending and then he must be reviewed by a psychologist before they could set a date to consider his status.

The Ministry of Justice referred his case to the Parole Board after he had completed his minimum sentence.

His co-accused - nursery worker Vanessa George - is back on the streets after serving just ten years in prison for abusing 64 babies and sharing the sickening videos with Blanchard.

Her release sparked fury after it emerged she has been given a cushy flat in the Midlands at the expense of the taxpayer.

George earned the grisly title of Britains worst female paedo in 2009 after she was caged for taking the sick pictures of herself harming babies and toddlers.

The fiend cruelly refused to tell police the names of all of her victims leading to a decade of hell for families who still arent sure whether their child was abused.

Special needs coordinator George took pictures on her phone of her abusing babies and toddlers at a nursery in Plymouth.

Her trial heard she sent pictures to paedophile Blanchard after meeting him on Facebook.

Blanchard, of Rochdale, was said to be the hub of the paedophile wheel.

He traded the photos to members of a paedophile ring, including prostitute Angela Allen, of Nottingham, who was jailed for at least five years.

Mum-of-two George, whose two daughters have publicly disowned her, described herself to lover Blanchard as a paedo whore mum in vile exchanges between the two.

Tracey Lyons, who was jailed in 2011 for sending sickening child abuse pictures to Blanchard, has now been released from prison.

Tracy Dawber, who was in a year-long relationship with him, was caged for four years for abusing a two-year-old boy and letting Blanchard film it.

The Sun has approached the Parole Board for comment.

Description

A man raped a vulnerable 11-year-old girl in his flat after grooming her on the messaging app Snapchat.

When police arrested Alex Prosser they found more than 1,200 films and pictures on his phone showing babies and children being sexually abused. A report into the defendant described him as the "epitome of a predator paedophile".

His barrister said the 34-year-old has a deep sense of shame for what he had done - "as he should".

Swansea Crown Court heard that Prosser initially made contact with another child on Snapchat, and through her went on to start communicating with an 11-year-old girl.

Carina Hughes, prosecuting, said the girl made her age clear to the defendant and he told her he was 16. She said Prosser then engaged in "clear grooming behaviour" including making persistent requests for naked pictures of the youngster and sending her photos and videos of his penis.

The defendant arranged for the child to go to his flat, and when she arrived he cuddled her on his bed before touching her breasts and genitals. Prosser then made the child perform oral sex on him.

The court heard the abuse came to light after the girl's mother found the Snapchat exchanges, contacted Prosser to confront him and then reported the matter to the police.

Miss Hughes said when officers went to the defendant's Port Talbot flat he was not at home - but officers found blood outside the property and forced entry. Inside they found a trail of blood, and a bloody knife.

An injured Prosser was subsequently located on the slipway near the RNLI station on Aberavon seafront. His phone was seized and examined, and on it officers found 1,249 indecent videos and pictures, including 700 Category A images showing the most extreme kinds of sexual abuse. The court heard some of the children in the images were estimated to be around 18 months old.

Prosser subsequently gave a largely "no comment" interview but told officers he had been "waiting to die for the last 10 years" and said his life was difficult and he had "had enough".

In an impact statement from the victim's mum, which was read to the court, she said that since learning of the abuse she had trouble sleeping - but when she does sleep, she had nightmares about what had happened to her daughter. She said the young girl rarely talks about she went through but when she does "she blames herself and apologises". The mum added that what had happened to the family was "every mother's worst nightmare".

Alex Prosser, of Trinity Court, Port Talbot, had previously pleaded guilty to the rape of a child under 13, assault of a child under 13 by penetration, causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, three counts of possessing incident images of Class A, B and C, and possession of extreme pornography when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. He has no previous convictions.

Eugene Hickey, for Prosser, said it was clear from a pre-sentence report that the defendant led a lonely and isolated life and suffered from depression and low self-esteem which had led him to self-harm. The barrister said the main mitigation he could forward were his client's guilty pleas which meant there would be no trial, adding: "He has a deep sense of shame - as he should."

Judge Catherine Richards told Prosser he had raped and sexually assaulted a vulnerable young girl. She said she had carefully considered the contents of the pre-sentence report into the defendant - the author of which had described him as the "epitome of a predator paedophile" - and she was persuaded that an extended sentence was necessary.

With discounts for his guilty pleas Prosser was given a 13-year extended sentence comprising 10 years in custody with a three-year extended licence period. The defendant must serve two-thirds of the custodial element before he can apply for release but it will be for the Parole Board to decide if he can be let out at that point. He was also made the subject of an indefinite sexual harm prevention order, and will be a registered sex offender for the rest of his life.

Description

A former Stevenage-based police officer has been jailed after pleading guilty to corruption and making of indecent images of children.

Ben Pitelen, 45, was suspended from Hertfordshire Constabulary in July 2020 when the offences came to light, and dismissed from the force at a special hearing last September.

Pitelen - who was based with the Roads Policing Unit at Stevenage - appeared at Aylesbury Crown Court last Friday and was sentenced to 25 months in prison.

The police corruption matter relates to inappropriate sexual communication with a third party.

He joined the constabulary in 2000 and worked solely in uniform roles. He was a response constable from 2000 to 2004 when he moved to roads policing and remained until these matters came to light.

Temporary Assistant Chief Constable Matt Nicholls said: These are very serious offences involving an officer who has betrayed the trust placed in him in an appalling way.

"I hope the public is reassured by our continued efforts to tackle corruption in the service and bring offenders to justice.

Description

A serial sex offender described as a risk to children has been jailed for breaching a court order by carrying out internet searches for pornography.

Michael Graham was jailed in 2010 for child abduction and again in 2015 for outraging public decency in a library.

He was also under a sexual harm prevention order but admitted breaches by trying to access pornography.

Appearing at Carlisle Crown Court, the 33-year-old, of Monks Close Road, was jailed for two years.

Graham was jailed for five years in 2010 for abducting two girls in a park who he lured to an isolated area on the promise of showing them "some dens".

In 2015, he received a four-year jail term for outraging public decency by performing a sex act in Carlisle library.

He was ordered to sign the sex offenders' register and made subject of a sexual harm prevention order.

'Worrying sexual history'

The court heard Graham had already flouted that order four times before he fell foul of the authorities once again at the beginning of this year.

During a visit to his home, police found a mobile phone and PlayStation Vita which he had not declared to police or the probation service.

Graham admitted two sexual harm prevention order breaches and a breach of a sex offender notification requirement.

The hearing was told the defendant had been "lonely and isolated" and his only contact with the outside world was through a computer.

However, Recorder Tony Hawks said: "You have a worrying sexual history of offending.

"You have got to understand that if you don't stop breaching these orders you are going to spend most of your adult life in prison.

"You have a serious problem that needs to be addressed."

Description

A teaching assistant has been found guilty of having sex with a 14-year-old pupil in a supermarket car park.

The boy was a pupil at a school in Hoddesdon, in Hertfordshire, where Hannah Harris, now 23, worked.

She tricked the boy's parents by claiming to be the mother of the boy's fictional girlfriend.

However, she was caught in 2020 when the boy's older brother found out, and has been convicted of sexual activity with a child. Sentencing is next month.

St Albans Crown Court heard Harris had contacted the boy's parents, telling them her name was Olivia, and that her teenage daughter Kayla was their son's girlfriend.

In one text, Harris wrote: "Seems Kayla and [the boy] are getting on well, so I am happy to ferry them around."

"The names Kayla and Olivia were fictions to hide the fact they were meeting up," prosecutor Simon Wilshire said.

"The parents were in fact talking to Ms Harris, as that was the number they had been given for 'Olivia'."

'Duped'

When the victim's older brother found out about the relationship in January 2020, the boy admitted both Olivia and Kayla were fictitious.

"When the parents became aware, they realised they had unwittingly facilitated the contact," Mr Wilshire said.

"They had been duped by the boy into the belief he was seeing someone of his own age.

"As a teaching assistant at his school, she [Harris] would have known his age - such activity is a criminal offence regardless of whether he believed himself to be a willing party."

In a police interview, Harris said the first contact was initiated when the boy sent her an Instagram message.

She said she replied and communication continued until she agreed to meet him outside school hours.

Custody 'inevitable'

Harris, from Harrier Mill, Henlow, in Bedfordshire, denied four charges of sexual activity with a child in December 2019 and January 2020.

Three of the charges related to offences alleged to have taken place on Dunstable Downs and at her home, but she was cleared by a jury on those counts.

However, she was found guilty of one count of having sex with the boy in a supermarket car park.

Following the verdict, defence barrister Julia Flanagan said Harris was now in a stable relationship.

She said there had been concerns for her mental health, but she had returned to working in IT, a job she held down before becoming a teaching assistant.

Judge Caroline Wigin said: "The sentence is inevitably going to be custody."

She bailed Harris and told her she must abide by a curfew between 19:00 and 07:00 GMT, and that she will also have to register as a sex offender.

Sentencing is due on 9 March.

Description

Sex offender Gavin Ross, who was jailed for dancing at the side of the A90 with his trousers around his ankles, shouted to the guard: What do you think of this, then?

The 41-year-old appeared at Perth Sheriff Court and admitted intentionally exposing his genitals in a sexual manner to an employee at the citys jail on August 29, 2020.

Read More

Description

A Bradford man has been jailed after he was found guilty of raping a woman following a re-trial.

Christopher Davies was convicted at Bradford Crown Court on 14 January 2021 following a five-day trial.

The initial trial was held in May 2021, but jurors failed to reach a verdict.

The incident occurred on 6 January 2019, when Davies, 49, invited the victim to his house in Thornton Drive, Bradford.

Davies lured the victim into the property, before raping her. The victim fled the property on foot when Davies went into the bathroom.

She then reported the incident to the police and Davies was arrested and later charged with rape and sexual assault.

Following his guilty verdict, he was remanded and today at Bradford Crown (4 February 2022), Davies was sentenced to seven years and three months for rape and one year and nine months for sexual assault, to run concurrently.

He has also been ordered to sign the sex offenders register for life.

West Yorkshire Police Detective Emma Lindley, who led the investigation said: I would like to praise the victim for coming forward and reporting Davies actions. Its not been easy especially going through a re-trail, but she has shown courage throughout and Id like to thank her for her bravery.

I hope this sentencing brings comfort to the victim and also brings closure, as she moves forward with her life.

We take all reports of this nature seriously and anyone who is a victim of a sexual assault can rest assure we will do all we can to bring the perpetrators to justice.

Description

A former sergeant in the Spanish army was jailed for 44 months for storing and distributing the worst child sex abuse videos and images.

Gabriel Gonzalez, 43, had one 17-minute long video called Daisys Destruction, which showed the abuse of an 18-month old girl.

The police officer who viewed it said it was the worst he had ever seen and said other police should not look at it, Luton Crown Court heard yesterday (February 3).

The sentencing follows that of Bedford couple Nicholas Harris and Clare Buttrice, who were jailed for a combined 35 years for sexually and mentally abusing children last week.

Prosecutor Alex Kettle-Williams said that acting on information, the police raided a multi-occupancy house in Campbell Road, Bedford, on the morning of 18 October, 2018.

The officers seized one laptop and three hard drives from Gonzalezs room. He was not there at the time, but handed himself in later. He made no comment to the police questions.

Ms Kettle-Williams said 404 images were found on the devices, along with 182 videos. The total length of the videos was 20 hours, with the longest single film lasting 3 hours and 19 minutes.

Gonzalez had distributed nine moving images at Category A, the most serious level, and three Category B moving images to other paedophiles.

He had downloaded 85 still and moving images at Category A, 65 at Category B and 379 Category C images and 57 images of extreme pornography.

The images were stored under the names of music albums in an attempt to disguise them.

Ms Kettle-Williams said: He had a personal video library of indecent images. They showed pre-pubescent girls, with the victims in pain and crying. There was also bestiality and torture.

He said Gonzalez had used computer search terms such as 'sadistic', 'torture' and 'snuff'.

Gonzalez, now of Pine Road, Didsbury, Manchester, had earlier pleaded guilty to two charges of distributing indecent images of children, three of making (downloading) and one of possessing extreme pornography. He had no previous convictions in England and Wales or Spain.

Defending, Richard Saynor said he had pleaded guilty at the first opportunity.

He said: He served successfully in the Spanish armed forces and worked his way up to the rank of sergeant.

He gained a psychology qualification. He moved to the UK and gained employment using his psychology qualification by assisting people with autism. At all times he was working with adults.

After his arrest he moved to Manchester, where he had been working in a car wash.

In a letter of apology to the judge, Gonzalez said: Serving as a sergeant taught me strong standards of protecting community and having personal integrity.

I realise in the position I am in today I have fallen far from those high standards. I wanted to apologise to all the victims in this case.

Referring to the Destructing Daisy video, Recorder Bal Dhaliwal said: This was the horrific, sadistic and tortured abuse of a completely vulnerable child of 18 months.

The investigating officer stated it was the worst he had seen in his five years in this role. He said other officers should not have sight of it. The abuse was beyond words.

The judge ordered the forfeiture and destruction of the laptop and the hard drives.

Gonzalez must abide by the terms of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, is barred from working with children or vulnerable people, and register as a sex offender indefinitely.