Latest Offenders Portsmouth

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HGV driver John Ellison, 64, of Walton Road, Farlington, was found guilty of two charges of actual bodily harm and a single charge of raping a woman, a Crown Prosecution Service spokeswoman said.

The offences date back to the 1990s.

A judge at Preston Crown Court ordered him to sign the sex offenders' register for life when he was sentenced in February.

Ellison denied the charges against him.

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Copnor resident Michael Palmieri started up conversations with a number of boys before attempting to seduce them between 2010 and 2017, Portsmouth Crown Court heard.

But 60-year-old Palmieri, who also had a catalogue of vile indecent images and movies of children crying while being abused, was eventually caught out by an online police investigation.

The court heard how the defendant, who previously served 21 months in jail in 2003 after he crept into a 10-year-old boy's bed before touching him, had tried to maintain his innocence.

But his desperate attempts to convince police that he was not 'interested in boys' was shown up as bare-faced lies after overwhelming evidence of his offending.

Prosecutor Natasha Dardashti said: 'The defendant said he thought he was talking to men posing as boys after revealing it was a fantasy of his.

'In one exchange of messages, a boy said he was 14 years old and Mr Palmieri said he was 56.'

In other conversations the defendant pretended he had a son he abused and made graphic overtures to those on the receiving end in the chat rooms – including comments 'I would love to see you naked' and 'that's me daddy'.

During police interview in May 2018, Palmieri denied his involvement in the offences. Ms Dardashti said: 'During his conversations online he said he thought the people he was talking to were adults posing as young boys.

'He denied ever wanting to meet up and also denied he sent images. He said he had no interest in children but was just lonely and wanted someone to talk to. There was grooming behaviour and planning to what he was doing.'

In defence, Rob Bryan, said the images sent to chat room users were not of his own genitalia with his motivation 'role play'.

Police investigations showed the defendant had 134 images on his computer and 132 movies showing various degrees of abuse being inflicted on children.

Palmieri, of Stubbington Avenue, admitted three counts of making indecent images of children, two charges of distributing indecent images and six counts of attempting to incite a child into sexual activity.

The offences were committed while he was serving a suspended prison term for driving while disqualified.

Judge William Ashworth said: 'The effect on these children would have been demeaning and may lead to possible irreparable problem.'

He added: 'The images showed children in extreme stress with some of them tied up with rope while they were crying. You accept your interest in young boys and failed to see the harm in your offending.'

Palmieri, who worked as a supervisor at Balfour Beatty, was made subject to a sexual harm prevention order as well as being locked up for 40 months.

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A prowling paedophile who groomed and groped a vulnerable child has been jailed for five years.

David Joll befriended the vulnerable 12-year-old, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, before touching his bottom over his trousers twice.

The 58-year-old pervert, who is in a relationship with another sex offender currently serving time in jail, was branded a 'true paedophile' by a judge who refused to show him leniency.

Portsmouth Crown Court heard how Joll, of Northern Parade, Hilsea, has a string of convictions for assaults on boys and having child abuse pictures.

His most recent convictions, including just last year, were for indecent images – with his lawyer claiming viewing these stopped him from going out abusing boys.

Judge Roger Hetherington rejected the last-ditch bid for freedom from his defence – pointing out Joll had meant to be completing a sex offender treatment when he was preying on the boy who was playing truant from school.

Joll had taken the boy to his home a day after the abuse and even given him his mobile number, having already groomed him by giving him cash and non-alcoholic drinks.

Probation assessed him and found he has a problem with alcohol and said he poses a very high risk of further sexual offending, the court heard.

Addressing Joll, judge Roger Hetherington said: 'Turning to your previous convictions, these show that you are a true paedophile in the worst sense of that word who has committed a number of serious contact offences against young boys – true it is that the last of those was in 2004, 2003 but there were a number of them and they were plainly very significant offences.

'Who is to know that if things hadn't been brought to a halt in relation to this boy, something far worse than what you had in fact been convicted of doing to him might not have occurred.'

He added: 'Your have a partner that you wish to resume a life with who is himself a convicted sexual offender serving a custodial sentence for historic sex offences and you are assessed as posting a very high risk of sexual offending posing a high risk of harm to children.

'It's my judgment that you do fulfil the criteria of dangerousness.'

The judge found Joll is dangerous, finding that could – but did not – lead to him receiving an extended term on licence.

In a statement read by prosecutor Matthew Lawson the boy said: 'I feel sick about all of this, I feel better he is in prison as he can't get out of prison – I want him in prison.'

Joll, who had been held on remand, had denied touching the boy but was found guilty by a jury.

Judge Hetherington increased the sentence due to Joll's previous convictions and said there was no mitigation for his actions.

A sexual harm prevention order was imposed for 10 years restricting Joll's contact with children. He must sign the sex offenders' register for the same period.

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A teenager who was groomed and raped in a series of 'appalling' assaults watched as her abuser was jailed and said: 'He is a monster'.

Perverted Jamie Williams looked blank-faced as he was handed a 13-year jail term for repeated sexual assaults and two rapes on the young girl.

Williams, 32 of Inverness Road, Buckland, was convicted of four charges of sexual assault, two more serious sexual assaults and two rapes.

Sentencing, judge Roger Hetherington said: 'These were appalling offences which were the result of a degree of planning on your part.'

He added: 'With any young girl it would have had a very traumatic effect and unsurprisingly that's precisely what has happened in this case.'

Probation found Williams poses a high risk of serious harm to children but the judge stopped short of ruling he was dangerous, which could have led to Williams receiving an extended sentence.

The girl, who cannot be named, told of her frustration at having to wait for a third trial for justice to be done after the first jury was dismissed and a second trial date was abandoned as medical evidence was compiled.

Bravely she watched from the public gallery at Portsmouth Crown Court as 32-year-old Williams was sentenced over video-link

In a statement read out by prosecutor Matthew Lawson, the girl said: 'I was just a little girl. I hope I can get my life back.

'I will not let what he has done to me stop me from being successful.'

She added: 'I think that he is a monster – I'm so relieved that he was found guilty.'

In a statement, her family said: 'Our lives changed forever and after nearly two hellish years we are still putting the pieces back together.

'We hope January next year will be a new beginning for all of us and we can't thank enough all those involved in bringing the case to trial and getting justice.'

'On occasions I thought he was going to get away with this,' she said.

Forensic medical evidence agreed by the prosecution and defence revealed the pain the victim suffered.

After telling police about the attacks she once saw into Williams in the street. 'I was left physically shaking and crying,' her statement said.

The defendant had applied 'subtle pressure' in trying to stop the girl from reporting the attacks to police, the court heard.

Williams was ordered to sign the sex offenders' register for life. He denied all charges.

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GROOMED by her stepfather from the age of 13, Shannon felt forced into keeping the abuse he carried out as a dark secret known only to them.

Such was Alan Stanhope's perverted influence on Shannon, now 21, he insisted that she call him dad and legally change her surname to his.

For years she was too scared to speak out to anyone.

But today she is planning for the future after bravely telling her mum, police and ultimately facing her abuser in court at a trial.

Alan Stanhope, who had threatened her, was jailed for 10 years after being convicted of nine charges of sexual activity with a child.

Now with him behind bars Shannon is much happier – she has a boyfriend and is pregnant expecting a girl.

Speaking to The News after waiving her anonymity, she said: 'The reason I came forward and reported the crime, as well as protecting my family and myself, was that I had to fight for my life.

'The life I knew deep down I was supposed to have – happiness without judgement.

'And the feeling of "walking on eggshells" to go away as soon as I walk through the door. The future, of being married with children – that was never going to happen because Alan never accepted me moving on, or living. He wanted to run away with me.'

For years Shannon was bombarded with sexually explicit messages from her stepfather, who tried to find reasons to be alone with her and carry out the abuse.

He got together with Shannon's mum when Shannon was just 13 – and spent years ingratiating himself into the Portsmouth family.

'I felt I couldn't live life any more and I got really down,' Shannon said.

'I was screaming out for help but nobody could.

'It wasn't until November 2016 when my mum found out, she became suspicious.

'I just told her to look at his phone and see what he's been sending me and she saw everything, all of the messages saying that he loved me and he wanted to do stuff with me.'

Stanhope, 39, of Spenlow Close, Buckland, denied all the charges, claiming his phone sent messages by mistake, but was found guilty.

Shannon added: 'I want to get this out there, not to be malicious, but to raise awareness.

'Even though I am still embarrassed over what happened to me for during the seven years he was in my life,

'I do not want this to happen to another child.

'What I experienced was horrific, and it was against my will to keep it "our little secret" and make everything seem fine between us to family and friends.'

Predator talked his way into family life

SICK Alan Stanhope told young Shannon the abuse he carried out was just 'us time'.

The 39-year-old spent years taking advantage of the trust he had been given when he met Shannon's mum.

But while portraying himself as the 'perfect stepfather' he was secretly stealing his stepdaughter's childhood.

Shannon said: 'It became an evening thing, every now and again when my mum went up to the bath and that left us alone – he called it "us time".

'The first time it happened, it happened so quick I couldn't believe it. All he said was "did you enjoy it?" and I said "no".

'After that time it was on a weekly basis, up until I was 19, and more towards the end.

'He said that he was in love with me.'

The pervert would message Shannon while she was out with friends and tried stopping her from going out.

'He was pestering me to do sexual things – and he didn't like it when I said no, and there were times he would even when I said no,' she said.

'It got to the point where I felt I wasn't being left alone, I felt like I was just being harassed and I couldn't move forward with me life.'

But now Shannon has relief that Stanhope was jailed.

She faced her abuser in court, giving evidence to jurors who returned unanimous guilty verdicts.

She said: 'I do feel better now he's in jail – I feel much safer. I feel like I got justice although it was nerve-wracking, before I went to the stand I was having a panic attack.'

Gilian Finch, from charity CISters, said: 'Abusers are skilled manipulators which is how they stay undiscovered for so many years. They manipulate not only their child victims but also adults around the child too.'

She added: 'I would urge anyone (male or female) who lives in the Portsmouth area and has experienced sexual abuse to reach out for help.'

n Portsmouth Abuse and Rape Counselling Service on the women's helpline on (023) 9266 9511 or the men's helpline on (023) 9266 9516. Lines open Monday 1pm-3pm; Wednesday and Friday 7pm-10pm.

n Treetops Sexual Assault Referral Centre in Cosham 24 hours a day on 0300 123 6616.

n Women in Hampshire who are over 18 and were abused as children by immediate or extended family can call CISters on (023) 8033 8080 [email protected]

'There is plenty of support available for abuse victims'

NEVER feel unable to report sex abuse that took place years ago.

That is Shannon Stanhope's message to others who may be suffering in silence. She said: 'I waited too long to report this. I have missed out on my childhood. I would urge anyone who is in a situation like this, to disclose it. I have come out on the other side now. I am now 21 and I am with an amazing partner and we have a baby girl on the way. My life has completely turned around and it was worth it 100 per cent. There is plenty of support.'

Det Con Nicola Cupper said: 'These non-recent cases are really damaging to people. Even though it hasn't happened yesterday what they say is taken seriously, no matter how long ago something happened – it's never too late to report it.'

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THIS was the shocking moment an armed paedophile tried to snatch a young schoolgirl from the street.

The girl, who cannot be named, snapped the photo as Roger Seath cornered her against a wall in Southsea.

Now as the 45-year-old pervert has been jailed, a judge praised the 14-year-old girls actions that made her would-be attacker freeze and alerted a group driving past.
The driver confronted Seath, as the terrified and tearful girl was led to safety, and police were called.

When police arrived Seath, who had threatened to spank the girl if she did not go with him, said guilty as charged.

He had followed the girl, matching her pace as she walked across the road to get away from him, prosecutor Robert Bryan said.

Sentencing Seath to 33 months in prison, judge Anne Arnold said: This was a particularly vulnerable victim a 14-year-old schoolgirl. She was certainly threatened by you with being spanked.

Because she, very fortunately, had been pre-warned by her parent, was an intelligent and alert girl with sufficient wherewithal to do exactly what shed been told to do if approached by somebody such as yourself and that was she took your photograph, freezing your approach long enough to be assisted.

After it was revealed Seath has no previous convictions, the judge added: It probably makes it all the more worrying that unpredictably youve committed this offence at this particular time in your life.

She added: You do appear to be a danger to children.

The girl had been told by her mother to take a photo of anyone who approached her or hit out if she was touched, following a previous report of schoolgirl being approached.
Mr Bryan revealed Seath had spent the seven days after arriving in Portsmouth following schoolgirls and videoing them on his iPhone.

Footage played at Portsmouth Crown Court showed Seath walking just 2ft away from two other teenage girls, saying: The smaller one is cuter through, the 14-year-old wasnt interested, I offered her 20 quid and everything.

Im going to have to go now, thats all your getting.

It was unclear if Seath had been talking on the phone to another person while recording, Mr Bryan said. Two other videos showed him discreetly filming two girls on city streets.
Investigators found he had more than 300 images of girls from a social media network.

Chat logs showed he had messaged, called and tried to video call 10 young teenagers, including bombarding one girl he found online.

Seath made 4,246 searches on his phone in seven days 600 a day with the majority related to teenage girls.

He admitted attempted abduction with intent to commit a sexual offence and having a bladed article.

David Reid, mitigating, said Seath has little memory of the incident or the time leading up to it, and had the butter knife on him as he was homeless but living in a hotel.

He does recognise this young girl would have been very scared about what he did and the public in general would be concerned about his behaviour, he said.

Seath, previously of Osborne Road, Southsea, must sign the sex offenders register for 10 years, and a lifetime order restricts his access to children. He must pay a 170 victim surcharge.

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A PAEDOPHILE nursery volunteer's cover was blown after a Christmas card from a charity supporting sex attackers was spotted at her home, it has been reported. Tracy Lyons, 46, from Portsmouth, was jailed in 2011 for her role in a paedophile ring after she admitted filming herself abusing a two-year-old boy and sending the video and images to Colin Blanchard. A neighbour had visited Lyons who was going by a different surname at her home in Southampton but saw a Christmas card signed from all your friends at Circles, a support group for sex offenders. The Mirror said the charity is a social network aiming to rehabilitate offenders by providing volunteer friends. Her new pal confronted her on Christmas Eve after discovering her past online. She called police and fled. Lyons, formerly of Hewett Road, North End, was released from jail in 2011 after serving nine months of a four-year sentence after admitting two indecent assaults on a child, inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and three counts of distributing indecent photographs of children. She volunteered at Izzies Neighbourhood Nursery, in North End, in July 2008, although police said no abuse took place there. As reported, the paedophile ring was masterminded by Blanchard, from Rochdale, whose partner Vanessa George sent him abuse images. He was jailed indefinitely with a minimum of nine years.

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A sex monster who repeatedly raped an underage girl leaving her pregnant boasted he was copying his rapist dad, his ex-girlfriend has revealed.

Bethany Hazell was just 15 and 16 when she was sexually assaulted by James Hunt, whose father Neil Hunt was jailed for 12 years for raping a woman on the street.

The supermarket worker, who is currently serving eight years in prison for three attacks on Bethany, now 21,told her: "Dad did it so I have done it now."

Hunt, 21, was jailed in 2013 for the attacks - and raping another woman - after boasting of his crimes to a friend, who was a PCSO.

At the age of 12 he had watched TV reports of the 2007 trial of his dad at Winchester Crown Court , where the jury heard how he sprang from his car, threw the woman to the ground and violently raped her before driving home and slipping into bed beside wife Heather.

Bethany, of Cosham, Portsmouth, is now bringing up three-year-old daughter Teagan-Hope, who she had as a result of the second rape.

She said: "It looks like he is proud that he is like his dad. It's like he thinks it's a cool thing. It just makes me feel so sick. It is disgusting."

Bethany and Hunt met at a district Scouts camp in 2010 when they were both just 15 but things quickly took a sinister turn.

She recalled: "I felt like I was in love with him - that it was going to be forever - but it was only three or four months into the relationship that things got nasty.

"We were arguing about something - I can't remember what - and he went to punch me but at the last second he punched the wall directly beside my head.

"I was scared. Warning bells rang but I just really loved him. He apologised and he seemed genuine about it - it was only once and he didn't actually hit me."

Six months into the relationship Hunt committed the first rape when he demanded sex for the first time and she said she wasn't ready.

He ignored her protests and pinned her down and repeated the crime ten months later.

The third rape happened at her family home when Bethany was 20 weeks pregnant - while her parents were downstairs.

Bethany, who has waived her anonymity, said: "James isn't bothered by what he's done. He was like, 'Oh well, dad did it so I have done it now.'

"He is even using it to flirt with people, in a twisted way.

"I saw a conversation between him and a girl and he said, 'Oh no, you won't be interested in me because I've done a terrible thing.'

"At the time when it was happening he seemed genuinely remorseful but from his comments now, it looks like he is proud that he is like his dad."

Bethany said she lived in constant fear of Hunt's unpredictable mood swings and violent outbursts.

She said: "I was going to a Christmas party once so he hid the dress I was going to wear so I couldn't go. Other times he would hide my purse so I couldn't go out.

"He was quite aggressive some of the time but the rest of the time he could be really nice. He used to get me loads of little presents - things he knew I would like."

Asked why she did not leave Hunt or go to police, she said: "I felt trapped.

"It was scary at the time but at other times he was fine and everything was good so I tried to make it into less of an issue.

"I think I knew he was a bad person but I made the issue into a smaller thing. I was just very naive.

"I thought, 'He does love me. He just gets a bit angry sometimes. I probably wind him up.'"

Bethany said Hunt and his father, who had two other children and was separated from his mother, lost contact in October 2006 when he was arrested for a minor crime.

A DNA check linked him to an unsolved rape from 17 years previously and his mother Helen, now 49, later told him the truth about his father.

Hunt and his father have recently got back in touch and now Hunt's mother - who has forgiven her son - wants them to meet her little girl.

Heather was recently refused access to Bethany's daughter by a court.

Bethany claims Heather has been secretly passing Hunt photos of the little girl and Hunt has written to Bethany from prison cell, begging to see her.

Bethany, who is bringing up her daughter at her parents' home, said she has suffered from post-natal depression, anxiety and PTSD since her relationship with Hunt.

She said: "I find it difficult to trust people. If someone close to you can do something like this, what can someone who doesn't know you do?

"It has ruined my life in a way. I had to grow up so quickly."

Bethany eventually left Hunt in November 2012 when her daughter was a baby because she feared he might turn on the little girl.

He was arrested three months later after boasting of his crimes to a PCSO mate who told his superiors.

He was charged with four counts of rape - three against Bethany and one relating to a second girl.

He pleaded guilty and was jailed for eight years at Portsmouth Crown Court in October 2013.

His father had his sentence reduced on appeal to seven years.

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A teenager has avoided a prison sentence after he was convicted of raping and sexually assaulting his 10-year-old step-sister.

In 2015, Ben King of Portsmouth appeared at court and was found guilty of raping a child aged under 13 and sexual assault of child aged under 13

The court was told that the rape took place in 2010 when King was a teenager

King was sentenced to:

- Two year youth rehabilitation order with supervision requirements.

- King was classed as a category 1 registered sex offender and level 2 risk management.

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Police have tracked down a missing sex offender.

James Alexander Campbell has been found and arrested by detectives in the Manchester area.

As previously reported, officers from Hampshire Constabulary were appealing for information about Mr Campbells whereabouts after he failed to register his address with authorities.

The 41-year-old was last seen in Portsmouth on November 19, 2012, after being released from court over an unrelated charge of shoplifting.

But Mr Campbell is now in police custody after he was tracked down in the north of England.

A spokesperson for Hampshire police issued a thank you to residents who had helped out during the appeal over the Easter period.

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A woman and four men have been jailed for their part in an international paedophile ring that committed "horrific" crimes against two young children in the UK and one in Australia.

The ringleader, Robert Hathaway, 37,from Portsmouth in Hampshire was given an indeterminate sentence of 12 years at Portsmouth crown court while his partner Melissa Noon, 30, received four years.

Judge Roger Hetherington told Hathaway he would not be released from prison for a minimum of six years and not until the parole board deemed him no longer to be a danger to children.

The three other defendants became involved by meeting the couple over the internet to carry out the abuse.

Stephen Fraser, 42,from Cambridge was sentenced to four years with an extended licence period of six years; Simon Hilton, 29, from north London was imprisoned for four years with an extended licence period of six years; and Lee Parson, 38, from Portsmouth was jailed for three years.

A six-week trial heard that the two young children in the UK were repeatedly abused by the group, who used a nudist website as a guise for their perversions.

Hampshire police launched their investigation into the ring after being tipped off by the authorities in Australia, who had uncovered a "mirror image" ring in Brisbane and Sydney, which also abused at least one young child.

Hathaway had been in contact with this ring and shared images with them and one of the charges faced by Noon was for encouraging the Australian child to engage in sexual activity.

A total of 2,000 pages of chat logs were uncovered by police, as well as 14,000 indecent images of children and 300 videos of children being abused.

The abuse included offences of rape and sexual assault as well as forcing the children to engage in naked games of Twister and wrestling.

As Kerry Maylin, prosecuting, described the offences committed by the defendants, sighs of disgust could be heard from the packed public gallery.

She said the victims were "systematically and repeatedly" raped by Hathaway and sexually assaulted on a daily basis.

The abuse was documented with thousands of photographs and videos, some as long as 42 minutes, which were distributed by Hathaway over the internet.

These included the abuse being carried out while the victims watched children's TV programmes and during bedtime stories, when they were seen to be reading books such as In the Night Garden.

Some of the abuse was streamed live over the internet using webcams to broadcast to paedophiles around the world who would reassure the victims that the behaviour was "normal".

Maylin said that among the videos of abuse found on Hathaway's computer was a cartoon in the style of The Simpsons aimed at training children in the ways of sexual abuse.

Describing Noon's role in the crimes, she said that as well as taking photographs of the offences for distribution on the nudist website that she ran, she also became involved, for example by taking part in the naked game of Twister with one of the victims.

Also, in a webcam conversation, Noon told the Australian victim to strip naked before telling the girl that she was her "little sweet princess" and she had an "adorable body".

When the girl asks to leave the conversation, Noon tells her: "Don't you go, I'm just getting hot."

Maylin said Noon was clearly "sexually excited".

In another internet conversation about child abuse with a female paedophile in Australia, Noon tells her that one of the UK victims "does not understand what this type of love is, she's too young, I will keep teaching her".

Speaking after the case, Maylin said: "This was a horrific case of systematic child abuse where the defendants subjected children as young as four to atrocious acts of sexual abuse and encouraged others across the world to commit similar offences."

Paul Walker, defending Noon, said she had learning difficulties and had an IQ of between 61 and 69, putting her in the bottom 1% for her age.

He said: "What that means is she is more vulnerable to manipulation and coercion."

He added that if it had not been for the influence of Hathaway's "manipulations", Noon would not have become involved in child abuse.

Stephen Smyth, defending Hathaway, said his client suffered depression and had been vulnerable to "outside influences" since the death of his mother when he was eight, and his father when he was 10.

"In his grey and miserable life, there was really nothing other than sex," Smyth said.

Jennifer Knight, defending Parson, a father of two, said he had an unhappy upbringing with his father who was an alcoholic, and his wife who was abusive and violent towards him.

Andrew Turton, defending Hilton, said he was suffering depression and had been lonely following a recent relationship breakdown.

He added that the IT consultant had become isolated in his work and social life which revolved around the internet, meaning "he was living a virtual life in a virtual world".

David Reid, defending Fraser, said his client accepted he had a sexual interest in children and was aware of the damage he had caused the children.

He added that he had stopped offending on his own accord as his serious offending had made him realise that what he was doing was wrong.

Reid said: "The most serious offences were, for him, a trigger. He describes it as making him sit up and realise the seriousness and he had no further contact."

Jon Brown, head of strategy and development for sexual abuse at the children's charity NSPCC, said that the case highlighted the depths to which some individuals will sink to produce such "appalling" images.

"The internet has made it much easier for people to access this kind of material so stopping this terrible trade is a huge task," he said.

"Every day babies and children are being assaulted and raped to feed the apparently insatiable demand for indecent photos and videos. And each time they are viewed, more degradation is heaped on the young victims."

About one in three of people convicted of possessing child abuse images has also committed other serious sex offences against children, said Brown, and it was "vital these people are identified and brought to the attention of the authorities".

He added: "Just as importantly, the young victims must get therapeutic treatment to help them overcome their terrible ordeals."

A further four defendants are to be sentenced for their part in the abuse next month.