Seven men have been convicted of more than 30 child sexual abuse offences, including the rape of a child under the age of 13.
John Denham, formally known as Benjamin Harro, has been found guilty of conspiring to commit sexual assault against a child and possessing and distributing indecent images of children. Matthew Stansfield has been found guilty today of conspiring to rape a child under 13. Adam Toms, Christopher Knight, Robin Hollyson, David Harsley and Matthew Lisk all pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing.
The men shared indecent images and videos of children being abused, communicating via social networking forums. The victims identified so far were under the age of five at the time the offences were committed.
Greg McGill, Head of the Crown Prosecution Service Organised Crime Division, said:
“It is difficult to find the words to describe the activities of these men, and the harm that they have done. They groomed families to gain access to babies and toddlers and then streamed images of themselves sexually abusing the children live on the ‘dark net’. On one occasion, Adam Toms gave a sleeping pill to a four year old child in order to facilitate abuse alongside Christopher Knight.
“Fortunately, the CPS, NCA and Police forces were able to coordinate a swift and effective response when matters came to light which resulted in the arrest and prosecution of these men. The efforts of all resulted in guilty pleas from all involved followed by further convictions secured after a trial for other offences.
“The families of these children have endured a horrendous ordeal and I would like to thank them for their invaluable assistance in securing these convictions.
“Finally, I wish to thank the commitment and dedication of all of the investigators who were involved in this case and also the skill and commitment of the prosecution staff concerned.”
For further details, see the National Crime Agency website.
