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Description

A man from Swindon has pleaded guilty to being a ‘Global Moderator’ on a dark website dedicated to the sharing of child sexual abuse content.

Saunders Custody ImageBrett Saunders, 50, came to the attention of the National Crime Agency as part of an investigation into the hidden site, which had over 2,000 members and is only accessible using Tor.

The NCA focused on a moderator with the username ‘Wetty’, who was heavily involved in running the site. Wetty took responsibility for enforcing the site’s rules and responding to user enquiries, providing advice around personal security and how to evade law enforcement detection.

Saunders was identified as the man behind the account and further enquiries revealed he had previous convictions relating to the sexual exploitation of children.

NCA officers arrested Saunders at his home in Freshbrook in August 2022. A number of his devices were seized, including his laptop which he had hidden under a sofa cushion, and a phone and hard drive found by special search officers concealed in an air vent.

The website was open on his laptop and Saunders was logged into his account. When interviewed, he confirmed to officers that he held the rank of Global Moderator and had himself uploaded indecent images of children to the site.

He also admitted he had a sexual interest in children, particularly girls aged 8-12.

Investigators recovered data relating to his account, including over 3,000 posts made by him and private messages he sent to other users, which evidenced that his contribution was key to ensuring the site continued to function.

These also made it clear that Saunders had quickly risen through the ranks due to his commitment and encouragement of others to discuss and distribute images and videos of child sexual abuse.

When congratulated by another user on his promotion to Global Moderator he said:

“Thank you… I must say it came as a bit of a shock to me! Not sure what I did to deserve the honor, but whatever it was I will try to keep doing it to the best of my abilities!”

The site was run on a points-based system where users gained ‘reputation points’ for adhering to the rules and sharing abuse material. It had an initial guest portal, where new users had to gain at least 10 reputation points before they were admitted entry to the main site.

Saunders was in charge of running the guest portal and was responsible for issuing or deducting reputation points, as well as ultimately deciding who would be allowed through.

Saunders uploaded a total of 115 images and videos of abuse to the site. He posted two such images of a young girl as part of a discussion around the legalisation of pre-teen marriage, along with the caption:

“If only it were possible. I would wish for it if I found a magic lamp….and for her to stay about this age (10-12) forever (and me my age)!!”

A further 65,000 files relating to indecent images of children were recovered from his devices.

In the days after his arrest, Saunders was charged by Wiltshire Police for breaching the sexual harm prevention order that had been placed on him by the force when he was released from prison for his previous offending.

He was remanded in custody and later sentenced to two years and eight months in prison for the breach.

Last year, he was charged with a further nine counts, including arranging/facilitating the sexual exploitation of a child under 13, participating in the criminal activities of an organised crime group, distributing and making indecent images of children in categories A-C, and possessing a prohibited image of a child.

On Friday (19 January) at Swindon Magistrates Court he pleaded guilty to all nine counts. He will be sentenced at Swindon Crown Court on 5 March 2024.

Description

A man has been jailed for more than 13 years for a string of sexual offences against children.

Timothy Hayes of Sutton-on-Sea, Mablethorpe was convicted of 10 offences, including six counts of rape of a child and various forms of assault against a child, when he appeared at Lincoln Crown Court in November.

The 50-year-old had pleaded guilty to his crimes when he appeared before court officials last year.

And on Friday, 19 January, Hayes was sentenced to 13 years and four months behind bars at the same court.

He was placed on the Sex Offender Register indefinitely and was also given a Sexual Harm Protection Order indefinitely.

Description

A 62-year-old man has been jailed for non-recent child sex offences that took place in Daventry.

Kevin Marriott, previously of Coalville, Leicestershire, sexually assaulted a girl under six at an address in Daventry a number of years ago.

Following the offence, he told her not to tell anyone.

However in 2021, the woman in question bravely contacted police to tell them what had happened to her as a child.

An investigation was launched and Marriott was charged with one count of indecent assault on a girl under 16, and one count of assaulting a girl under 16 by penetration.   

After pleading not guilty to the offences and taking the case to a three-day trial at Northampton Crown Court last November, Marriott was found unanimously guilty by the jury.

He returned to the same court last week (January 15) where he was sentenced to seven years - six years to serve in prison and one on licence. He will also be on the Sex Offenders’ Register for life.

Description

A MAN was caught with vile videos of young girls being raped just weeks after he was given a suspended prison sentence for assaulting an ex-girlfriend.

Paedophile Lee Griffiths, 38, from Blaina was jailed after Newport Crown Court heard he had watched child abuse films on a cracked iPad.

The victims were aged between eight and 12 and he had sent a message to a contact online that he wanted “dirtier” material.

The defendant had also told that person: “Jail time would be worth it”.

Speaking about one of the movies, prosecutor Christopher Evans said: “There was pain visible on the face of one girl.”

Griffiths pleaded guilty to three counts of possession of indecent images of children.

He had five category A images – the most serious kind – and these included three videos and two photographs.

There were three category B images, one video and two photographs, and two category C images with both being films.

Griffiths also admitted being in breach of a suspended jail sentence by committing the offences.

The defendant had been handed a prison sentence of eight weeks, suspended for two years, in March 2022 after he was convicted of the battery of an ex-partner.

He had no previous convictions for any sex offences.

Paul Hewitt representing Griffiths said: “There is no evidence of him search for the images – he was sent them.

“The defendant can work with probation on a sex offender programme.

“He is someone who can be rehabilitated.”

Judge Carl Harrison told Griffiths: “You had images of children being raped and you are also in breach of a suspended sentence.

“Only a custodial sentence can be justified.”

He sent him to prison for 58 weeks.

The defendant will have to register as a sex offender for the next 10 years and was made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order until 2034.

Griffiths will have to pay a £156 victim surcharge following his release.

Description

A Swindon man molested a teenage boy while managing a restaurant.

61-year-old Carl Brown was running Jack’s, in Victoria Road, Old Town, when he sexually assaulted the youngster at the establishment in 2022.

The defendant was found guilty at his trial at Swindon Magistrates’ Court in September 2023, before returning for sentencing on 4 January this year.

At a previous hearing, prosecutor Asha Seenauth said he grabbed the boy’s penis and put his finger into his bottom over his clothing.

Magistrates imposed a 12-month community order, which includes 30 rehabilitation activity days and 150 hours of unpaid work.

He was told to pay £300 compensation to the victim, and pay £620 costs and a £95 surcharge.

Brown, of Highworth Road, must register as a sex offender for five years.

Description

A high-risk sex offender has been booted off the Falkland Islands and back onto Scotland’s streets.

Sheep shearer Roland Wedgwood-Orekoya was jailed in the South Atlantic for a terrifying attack on a teenage girl he lured to his home.

But the 32-year-old has now landed in Britain – with a warning he presents a danger to women.

Police chiefs went to court in Glasgow last week to make sure he signs the sex offender register.

Wedgwood-Orekoya – known as Seyi – has travelled the world working on farms and has strong connections to Aberdeenshire.

But in 2021 he arrived on the Falklands, taking jobs as a shearer and in the fishing industry.

In April 2022 he struck up a conversation with his victim as they queued at a late-night burger van in capital Port Stanley.

The girl was drunk but made clear she wasn’t interested in him. But, according to the court, Wedgwood-Orekoya “clearly intended luring her back to [his] accommodation in order to have sex with her”. He offered to share his stash of cannabis if she went to his digs.

When they arrived, though, he stripped naked and tried to force himself on her, tearing off some of her clothes and leaving her bruised in the “sustained assault”.

She escaped after punching the predator. Wedgwood-Orekoya denied sexual assault but was found guilty.

A probation report said his “transient lifestyle”, flitting between countries to shear sheep, added to the danger he poses.

Sentencing him to 18 months’ jail, judge Malcolm Simmons told him: “You have been assessed as being a high risk of harm to the public, namely females, especially those to whom you are s exually attracted. There was clearly a level of violence in the way you
manhandled your victim.

“This was clearly a frightening event for her.

“What occurred was not a momentary touching but a sustained assault.

“She was living at home with her parents, having recently left school. You are a man in your thirties.

“You specifically targeted a particularly vulnerable victim, a young girl who you knew had been drinking. You continue to deny the offence. You have shown no remorse.”

Last week, Police Scotland took legal proceedings at Glasgow Sheriff Court to reduce the risk he poses to women.

The force secured an order to ensure Wedgwood-Orekoya signs the register till 2032.

It means he will have to notify the police of any change of address or name. He will also be subject to frequent monitoring.

Description

A convicted sex offender who left the United Kingdom and went abroad later returned illegally to this country in an inflatable boat along with 50 other people, including his wife and children.

The boat was intercepted as it entered UK territorial waters and he ended up being brought from Kent to Hull to live in a hotel. Fingerprint checks revealed his previous conviction, Hull Crown Court heard.

Talib Rasul, 47, of Beverley Road, Hull, admitted attempting to enter the United Kingdom without a valid entry clearance on May 17.

Ben Hammersley, prosecuting, said that Rasul, an Iraqi national, was arrested after trying to enter the UK along with 50 others on an inflatable boat that set off from the French coast.

It was intercepted by the UK authorities before it reached this country's territorial waters. He was taken to a holding facility in Kent and was transferred to a hotel in Hull.

During interview on July 4, he made no comment to questions. Checks on him revealed that he had previously entered the UK before October 2003. He had been convicted of a sexual offence, indecent assault, in February 2005. The offence was committed in October 2003.

"It was suspected that the defendant must have left the UK of his own volition some time after his conviction," said Mr Hammersley.

"During this time, he was not known to the Home Office and there was no record of entry clearance so the defendant must have been here illegally."

The 50 others on the boat included members of Rasul's family. "He wasn't driving the boat," said Mr Hammersley.

"There is no evidence of him engaging in criminal activity or attempting to do so. He was clearly making a genuine asylum claim."

Oliver Shipley, mitigating, said that, at the time, Rasul immediately raised an asylum claim and that was still ongoing. "He is an asylum seeker," said Mr Shipley.

"A trial was listed. I made it clear that it would never have been a trial. Bail was granted, with a reporting condition, on August 14. He has been reporting to Clough Road police station every day since then.

"He isn't a flight risk. He is here with his wife of 17 years. He lives here with his four children."

Judge Megan Rhys told Rasul: "You were on an inflatable boat which contained 51 people. That boat was intercepted as it entered United Kingdom territorial waters. You were one of the 51 people who were on board.

"Fingerprint checks showed that you had previously entered the United Kingdom without clearance. It's of note that you were the only person on that boat who has been prosecuted.

"You came here with your wife and children. An asylum application was made shortly after you arrived and, as a result of that application, arrangements have been made leading to you and your family being housed in temporary accommodation in Hull."

Rasul spent six weeks in custody on remand before he was given bail. "An immediate custodial sentence would have a harmful impact on your wife and children," said Judge Rhys.

Rasul was given a six-month suspended prison sentence but with no requirements.

Description

A Teesside paedophile who 'preyed upon and exploited the vulnerability of children' has been jailed.

Kaye Little, also known as Kia Little, of High Street in Boosbeck, East Cleveland, was sentenced at Leeds Crown Court for offences including sexual activity with a child, malicious communications and the possession/distribution of indecent images of children. The pervert was living in Boosbeck at the time of the offending, which took place between 2015 and 2019. The two male child victims were living in Leeds and were contacted by Little over the internet, reports Yorkshire Live.

The 46-year-old came to the attention of Leeds Children Vulnerable to Exploitation Team officers in 2019 after being identified as a suspect for malicious communication reports.

Subsequent enquiries by the West Yorkshire Police officers led to her becoming a suspect for sexual offences committed against the two males who officers had identified during the investigation. She was arrested in 2019 and was subsequently charged in April 2022. Following a trial in August last year, Little was found guilty by jury for 13 offences.

On Friday she was sentenced to six years for the offences. However, this was extended by three years due to the danger which the court felt Little poses. She received a further nine-months sentence to run concurrently for an offence against an adult male in Cleveland, which was investigated by a separate force.

Leading the investigation, Det Con Khi Smith, formerly of the Leeds Children Vulnerable to Exploitation Team, said: "I am pleased with the sentence handed to Little today for the abhorrent offences she committed. I want to thank the victims not only for their bravery in coming forward to report the offences, but also for their strength throughout the lengthy criminal justice process.

"They were put through the daunting experience of a criminal trial and have shown so much courage and dignity throughout. I hope they can begin to move on with their lives, knowing a level of justice has been served. Little preyed upon and exploited the vulnerability of these children and I hope this serves as a stark reminder that offending of this nature will not be tolerated. Anyone who has suffered similar offences, whether recent or not, is urged to come forward and report them to police.

"You will be listened to, taken seriously and supported by specially trained officers throughout and will also be referred to further help and support if needed. We will do all we can to secure justice for any victim."

Description

20-year-old David Shipway admitted charges of attempting sexual communication with a child and inciting a child to engage in non-penetrative sexual activity.

Swindon Magistrates’ Court were told on Wednesday (17 January) that the defendant, of Ladyfield Road, was arrested by police when paedophile hunters attended his home.

During conversations with a person posing as a 14-year-old girl online, he used sexual language and asked her to share explicit sexual photographs. He also sent her a photograph of his penis.

Kate Prince, prosecuting, said she believes the case to be in the category 1A, the most serious – and suggested that it should be sent to a crown court for sentencing.

Defence solicitor Mark Glendenning said his client has mental health issues and problems recognising the difference between appropriate and inappropriate behaviours.

A pre-sentence report was ordered and the case was sent to Swindon Crown Court for sentencing on 16 February. He was released on unconditional bail.

He was told to register as a sex offender within 72 hours. The lengthy of the registration will be determined by the sentence given next month.

Description

A retired priest who sexually abused two schoolchildren at his home in the 1980s has been jailed for 32 months.

Edward Phillips-Smith, 73, exploited his position as chaplain at St Peter's Collegiate School, Wolverhampton, to groom the young pupils.

In a statement read to Oxford Crown Court, one of his victims described his actions as "selfish, exploitative" and "perverted".

Sentencing, Judge Pringle said: "You as a teacher were in a position of absolute trust with that young boy and you abused that trust".

The court heard Phillips-Smith, who subsequently moved to Essex and had been known to the children as Father Eddie, would run after-school clubs.

Seen as "more relaxed" than other teachers, the priest would tickle children to make them laugh.

Prosecutor Fern Russell said: "He was fun to be with, the children would sit on his knee."

She described how he invited the two victims to his home in Brewood, Staffordshire in the early 1980s.

The court heard the boys went to his room during a thunderstorm and ended up in the defendant's bed.

In the middle of the night Phillips-Smith woke the boys up and encouraged them to perform a sex act on him.

Victim Will - not his real name - said in a victim statement read out in court the priest's actions were “selfish, exploitative [and] perverted”.

Speaking of the devastating impact on his life and relationships in the decades since, he said: "I fear I will never be free of the shadow he cast over me as an innocent child looking for acceptance.

"He called himself Father but he’s no man of God."

Speaking for the defence Lucy Tapper said the former priest had expressed "sincere regret" and there had been no repeat of the event, despite Phillips-Smith coming into contact with children in the course of his daily life.

Phillips-Smith, of Hadleigh Road, Frinton-on-Sea, pleaded guilty to one count of indecent assault and two counts of indecency with a child.

He was handed a sentence of 32 months for the assault, and 16 months for the counts of indecency, to run concurrently.

He was also given a lifelong sexual harm prevention order limiting his communication with either of the two victims.

On sentencing, Judge Pringle told the defendant: "You were widely loved by the pupils at that school. You were fun. You were not as strict as some of the other masters.

"The boys loved being with you because you made them laugh and you'd sit on their knee and you would tickle them."

The effect and "mental anguish" on Will was clear from his statement, the judge added.

"What is interesting, in what you did as far as [Will] is concerned – after that episode that I’ve described you ‘dropped him like a stone’. You weren’t interested in him any more because he didn’t play the game," he said.

'Red flags'

Staffordshire Police began investigating in February 2023 and arrested Phillip-Smith in May.

Det Const Gemma Grimshaw from the force's rape and sexual offences team thanked those who came forward for their "exceptional bravery".

“I hope this serves as a message to any survivors of child sexual offences that they will be listened to, supported by specialist officers and spoken to in confidence," she added.

Lichfield Diocese said it had handed the priest's file to police after identifying several "red flags" during a past cases review, external, carried out between 2019 and 2022.

A diocesan spokesperson said: "The crimes committed show serious unacceptable behaviour for any priest, from whom we expect the highest standards of personal and professional conduct especially on behalf of children and vulnerable people in their care.

"While safeguarding expectations and processes have improved very significantly over the decades, we are very aware that the hurt caused to survivors of abuse does not go away."

The spokesperson urged anyone affected to contact its safeguarding team, external.

They added Phillips-Smith had moved on to three further posts in the south of England before retiring.

A spokesperson from Three Spires Trust, which now runs St Peter's Collegiate Academy, said they were very sorry to hear about the historical case.

"Our thoughts are with all those involved," the spokesperson added.

"The safeguarding and protection of children is our key priority."

Description

A former Scout leader and housemaster at a children’s home in Nottingham has been jailed for 26 years after a jury found him guilty of historic sexual abuse.

Steven McNally, now aged 67, abused five children between 1974 and 1979 when he worked at Nazareth House Children’s Home in Lenton, and as a Scout leader for the Bishop’s Own Troop, also in Nottingham.

A trial at Nottingham Crown Court heard he sexually abused five boys who were aged between 5 and 15 at the time.

McNally was extradited from his home in Ireland to face trial and jurors found him guilty on 24 of the 29 counts listed in the indictment.

He was found guilty of:

• x11 counts of indecent assault on a child;
• x7 counts of indecent assault on a child on no fewer than five occasions;
• x3 counts of indecency with a child;
• x2 counts of indecency with a child on no fewer than five occasions;
• x1 count of buggery on a person under 16.

At his sentencing today (19 January), he was sentenced to 26 years in prison plus a one-year extended licence period. He was told he will serve a minimum 17 years before he can apply to the Parole Board to be released on licence. 

The trial heard that the majority of the offences took place while McNally worked as a housemaster at Nazareth House, which was run by the Sisters of Nazareth Catholic order.

Four of the five victims resided at the children’s home, whilst a fifth victim was sexually abused by McNally after joining a scout group also run by the serial abuser. Nottinghamshire Police launched an investigation which led to a number of victims being identified.

The crimes went undetected until 2016, when the first victim came forward after watching a child sexual abuse storyline unfold on the ITV soap Emmerdale.

Police were told the victim joined a Scout Troop and was abused by McNally on camping trips from the age of 11, including in Crich and Tollerton. The court heard McNally was aged 18 at the time and carried out the abuse after entering the victim’s tent on repeated occasions.

The second victim told officers he had been having a rough time in the care home and had been beaten by the nuns. He said McNally was aware of the beatings and told the child that he would look after him and visit him in the night to make sure he was OK.

Instead, McNally repeatedly sexually abused the child, telling him not to tell anyone about what happened because if he did, bad things would happen.

The victim was aged around nine at the time and the abuse happened on the grounds of the children’s home as well as in McNally’s car.

Two further victims told police they were sexually abused from the ages of around five or six, with one telling officers McNally saw the boys at the home as his “play things” and that he would beat children as well as sexually abuse them.

The fifth victim told police McNally “stole his childhood” and that he abused him at Nazareth House as well as at a Nottingham address that was home to McNally’s parents.

Description

A woman told police she was ‘appalled’ after intimate videos of her taken 18 years ago without her permission were found in the possession of a serial child sex offender.

The videos were found in the possession of 87-year-old Alan Barclay of Fenwick Road, Falmouth who had recently been released from prison following a conviction for the possession of hundreds of vile child rape and bestiality pictures and videos 

He appeared for trial at Truro Magistrates Court in handcuffs from Exeter Prison on Wednesday, where he’d been recalled following the discovery. He pleaded not guilty to one charge of voyeurism relating to 2006.

As previously reported by the Packet, Barclay was sentenced to 21 months in prison at the crown court in 2022, after the judge heard discs were found at his home with a large quantity of pictures and videos of children being abused, including 285 videos and 64 images of Category A - the most severe category of child abuse.

He had previously been convicted of a similar offence in 2019 but had escaped prison after he was made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order, which prevented him from using a computer or devices capable of connecting to the internet.

The court heard in March last year police went to Mr Barclay’s address in Falmouth as part of a routine visit after he was released from prison for his original offence as part of his bail conditions.

They carried out a search of his home and found CDs in racks in his “office” upstairs. When police looked at them they found six intimate videos of a woman that appeared to have been taken secretly. They also found many more child sex pictures and videos.

They identified the woman who told them she’d been totally unaware they had been taken.

One of the officers involved in the prosecution told the court that when they told the woman what they’d found she was horrified and devastated.

“She had no idea she’d been filmed,” she said. “Because of the type of lady she was, she was a classy lady, I think she would have been horrified that I’d seen that video.”

In a statement given to the police the woman said she was appalled by what had happened. She said had never sent any intimate videos of herself to Barclay or anyone.

Barclay took to the stand in court, without any representation from a solicitor.

He told the magistrates: “I’d like to say that I have been totally honest right from the first time I was arrested.

“I do not tell lies. I was brought up under the influence of my grandfather, who was a sergeant major in the army. He instilled in me to allows tell the truth.”

Barclay claimed the videos had been transferred from the camera onto a disc in bulk, along with a lot of other pictures that he had taken on holiday.

He also claimed to the court that he was impotent and “had no feeling whatsoever”, so had been unable to gain sexual gratification for “probably 17 years now”.

He concluded his evidence by saying: “If I go back to prison it would be a life sentence. I’ve been in the prison hospital for a month and I’m very poorly, and I’m not getting better.”

He denied to the prosecutor that the real reason he had downloaded the images onto a disc was so they wouldn’t be found.

“I have never been a voyeur of anybody,” he added.

However, the panel of three magistrates found him guilty of the charge, saying they found Barclay “to be deceitful” and his evidence not credible.

It was agreed to transfer Barclay to the crown court for sentencing next week.

Description

David Spencer, 45, was originally jailed for 10 months in 2019 after he was convicted of trying to meet a teenage girl in a car park following grooming.

He was found with a mattress in the back of his van.

Spencer was also slapped with a 10-year sexual harm prevention order to allow police to closely monitor his movements, contact with youngsters and use of the internet.

He has now been jailed again for breaching the prevention order seven times.

It included not telling a woman, who he was seeing and who had a daughter, of his conviction.

Cainan Lonsdale, prosecuting at Teesside Crown Court, said: “He attended her home four or five times when her daughter was present.”

The woman found out about Spencer’s sick past after trying to Google his address and found press reports of his conviction.

When police checked his phone, they found he had deleted hundreds of text messages relating to another woman he had previously been seeing.

It was also discovered he had used alias names on a porn website and had been chatting to various women in a sexual manner on the app Kik.

Spencer, formerly of Hartlepool, and most recently of The Crescent, Middlesbrough, had also used Snapchat in breach of the harm prevention order.

Sentencing him to 43 months’ jail, Recorder Paul Reid said: “This is a series of serious breaches of the sexual harm prevention order.”

Paul Green, mitigating, said Spencer had started to show signs of progress.

Description

A paedophile branded a 'danger to children' by police sexually assaulted three young girls at a family event - months after being released early from prison. Stuart Eyles set upon the children while mingling with hundreds of locals at the event in Stockport.

The 47-year-old targeted the victims after getting drunk. When the girls complained to their parents and Eyles was pointed out as the culprit, he denied wrongdoing but admitted drinking seven pints of beer at the event last summer.

At the time, he was on licence after being locked up for 30 months in April 2021 after pleading guilty to 57 offences involving online grooming and possessing child pornography.

He was also on the Sex Offender Register; had been made subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) banning him from having any contact with children under 16; and had completed a Home Office 'Horizon' programme aimed at rehabilitating sex offenders.

It is thought Eyles was freed early from jail in July 2022 under government rules allowing the automatic release of prisoners halfway through their sentences. He had three months left on his parole when he struck again.

In a statement to police, the father of one of the girls said the incident had 'rocked' his daughter's confidence.

''As for me I feel terrible too as I feel I have let my daughter down, I've hardly slept since," he added. The mum of another victim said her daughter had become 'socially withdrawn' and had undergone counselling 'to cope with the trauma'.

At Minshull Street Crown Court, Eyles, of Buckley Drive, Romiley, Stockport, was jailed for 15 months after being convicted of three charges of sexual assault. The SHPO order will be renewed for another 10 years.

Sentencing, Recorder Alexandra Simmonds told Eyles his behaviour had been 'predatory and opportunistic'. "You took advantage of the crowds to try and disguise your behaviour and it was the deliberate target of young girls on your part," she added.

''It is clear you were seeking out opportunities to touch young girls in the way you did and the impact of your offending has been significant. You have previous convictions for internet based child-related sexual offending and were on licence at the times of these offences. You completed the Horizon programme and yet have gone on to commit these offences despite that intervention.

"You have of course shown no remorse because you don't accept responsibility for these offences and are you are assessed as posing a high risk of serious harm to children."

Eyles was originally reported to Greater Manchester Police by the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit back in 2018 after he began unwittingly swapping messages with one of their undercover detectives over the KIK social media platform, which they had been using to trap online predators.

The undercover operative informed Eyles, whose username was 'Squid Thing', that the profile was that of a 14-year-old child and offered to cease the conversation, but he stated he did not want that to happen and began to sexualise the conversation and asked for indecent images to be sent.

In March 2019, a warrant was carried out at Eyles' home where various devices were seized, including a laptop, a camera, a mobile phone and a USB stick. Following this warrant, officers met Eyles outside his workplace and his mobile phone was seized.

Detectives conducted a forensic examination of all his electronic devices and discovered further criminal activity, including online sexual activity with a girl who he had sent sexually explicit pictures of himself and asked to meet for oral sex. She was the only person known to have existed as the others were police officers masquerading as young girls.

They also found various indecent images of children stored on the devices. Eyles, who also used other platforms, told police he committed the offences whilst ''bored' working nights. He claimed he was aware some of the profiles were fake and insisted his actions were 'hypothetical and fantasy to push things'.

He later admitted one count of sexual communication with a child; five counts of attempted sexual communication with a child; one count of causing a child to engage in sexual activity; one count of attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity; 21 counts of making indecent images of a child; and 30 counts of distributing indecent images of a child.

Description

Despite using a fake name on his Facebook page Barnard was identified by members of the vigilante groups who then turned up at his house before calling the police. The defendant's advocate told Swansea Crown Court that his client's life had been a "lonely one" and he had spent increasing amounts of time online.

Georgia Donohue, prosecuting, said the offending took place in November 2022 when the defendant, using the name William Stanley on Facebook, contacted the profiles of what appeared to be 14-year-old girls. She said profiles were actually decoy accounts being operated by adults acting as part of online paedophile hunter groups. The court heard Barnard started messaging the first profile and asked her whether she had a boyfriend and asked her if she had ever heard odd noises coming from her parents' bedroom. The pair then exchanged phone numbers and began communicating by text.

Later that month Barnard began messaging a second Facebook profile and his conversation with what he thought was another 14-year-old girl quickly turned sexual in nature. The court heard the defendant talked about masturbation with the girl and said he would teach the child how to do it. He also told her all men would want sex with her because she was "beautiful" but they couldn't because of her age and told her to keep their conversation secret.

The prosecutor said by December 1 the two groups behind the decoy profiles identified Barnard as the person behind the William Stanley Facebook page and turned up at his home address. Police were contacted and Barnard was arrested at 7.22pm that evening. In his subsequent interview the defendant answered "no comment" to all questions asked.

Andrew Barnard, now aged 56, of Brynmill Avenue, Brynmill, Swansea, had previously pleaded guilty to attempted sexual communications with a child and to attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity when he appeared in the dock for sentencing. He has no previous convictions.

Dan Griffiths, for Barnard, said it was acknowledged there was only one kind of sentence the court could impose and his mitigation went only to the length of the custodial sentence. He said Barnard experienced an "extremely difficult childhood" at the hands of his abusive father and at an early age was diagnosed with depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. He said Barnard's life had been a "lonely one" and he had spent increasing amounts of time online. The advocate said it was still to be explored whether the defendant's "adverse childhood experiences" were correlated to his offending but he said Barnard was anxious to take advantage of any help that professionals could provide.

Judge Geraint Walters told Barnard that the public have a "huge distaste" for the kind of behaviour he had engaged in. With a one-quarter discount for his guilty pleas Barnard was sentenced to 27 months in prison. He will serve up to half that period in custody before being released on licence to serve the remainder in the community. The defendant will be a registered sex offender for the next 10 years and was made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order for the same length of time to manage his access to the internet. Sending the defendant down the judge told him if he had been talking to real girls rather than decoys his sentence would have been "a great deal longer".