Luke Thomas 37

Description

A depraved Paignton man has been jailed for secretly filming teens and sharing obscene messages with other paedophiles. Luke Thomas used a hidden camera to make his recordings.

He kept the film on his mobile using protected storage and downloaded apps like Telegram and TeleGuard to talk about his sick fantasies. Thomas, 37, has been jailed for three years and two months at Exeter Crown Court.

He pleaded guilty to three charges of voyeurism, three charges of possessing indecent photos of children, possessing with a view to distributing indecent images, publishing an obscene article in a chat forum and possessing an extreme pornographic image.

He was arrested on December 16 after a tip-off by the National Crime Agency about suspicious online activity, the court heard. When police searched his phone they found a personalised space were he hid and carefully organised his images.

The folders contained videos of child abuse he had been sent by other paeodophiles. It was clear from the chat that Thomas got a sexual thrill out of explicit conversations and sharing images, the court heard.

Martin Salloway, defending, said Thomas was ashamed and described it as "the single worst thing I've ever done." He said Thomas, of Totnes Road, had pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity.Judge David Evans said: "You were using a private space to shield discovery, using protected storage containing folders inside of which were indecent images you had catalogued. You used the TeleGuard app to communicate with other like-minded people.

"Let's call them what they are - and what you are too - paedophiles. In the course of communication you received indecent videos of children depicting the prolific sexual abuse of very young children.

"You are undoubtedly a paedophile and pose a significant risk to children in the future." The judge said he could not extend the sentence because of the way the law works but his behaviour will be monitored in future as part of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.