Description
A 'depraved' paedophile who sexually assaulted a child and was found with more than 20,000 indecent images on computer devices has been jailed. Ian Worthington, 51, from Staffordshire, was brought down after an interventional investigation was launched by authorities to uncover "cross-border activity", Stafford Crown Court heard.
Worthington uploaded child sexual abuse material onto the dark web, where he also spoke with other paedophiles. Crown prosecutor, Maria Brannan, said an IP address was discovered before British police attended the defendant's address.
His house was searched and officers seized a number of devices, including a phone and laptop, which were forensically examined, said the National Crime Agency (NCA). An iMac computer was found containing thousands of indecent images of children, said Ms Brannan.
Of the images found on the iMac, there were 425 of the most severe type, Category A, followed by 691 Category B images and 4,895 Category C images. Worthington admitted to using a piece of software called TOR, also known as The Onion Router, which allows people to communicate online anonymously.
Police later found two hard drives owned by Worthington which contained thousands of more indecent images of children, the court was told. Investigators traced some images, made by Worthington, to a device belonging to an Australian sex offender, who was jailed for 22 years in 2015, said the NCA.
The NCA said Worthington used a number of dark web hidden service forums in an effort to ensure his activity remained anonymous. Meanwhile, investigators recovered 20,500 indecent images, from Category A to C, from his devices.
The National Crime Agency said among these, were 135 Category B and 140 Category C images showing a child being sexually assaulted by Worthington. There was also evidence which suggested they had been distributed to other paedophiles online.
Sentencing Worthington, Her Honour Judge K Montgomery QC said: "These offences came to light through an international investigation, determined to uncover cross-border paedophilic activity." She said some images found in Worthington's possession were of the most "depraved and disturbing", involving the sexual assault of children.
The judge said chat logs showed Worthington had an "active involvement in a network of paedophiles." Defending Worthington, Mark Nicholls said his client described his behaviour "as an addiction".
In total, Worthington was caged for six years and eight months - extended by two years on license. He was also ordered to be put on the sex offender register indefinitely and given an indefinite sexual harm prevention order.
NCA operations manager Hazel Stewart added: "Online abuse material cannot exist without the real-world exploitation of children. As this case shows, there is a clear link between offenders seeking out such material and committing sexual abuse themselves.
"We have wide-ranging capabilities to identify the most dangerous offenders who use the dark web in an attempt to remain anonymous. We will stop at nothing to ensure they face justice, and to protect children from exploitation."