Advocates for social welfare are urging technology companies to take stronger measures in safeguarding children following a distressing incident in which a father shared explicit photographs of his own daughters.
The father uploaded explicit photographs of his underage daughter onto malicious web forums, where he traded them for other illicit images.
The perpetrator was apprehended due to the infiltration of chat groups on two media platforms by officers from the National Crime Agency, who discovered incriminating photographs transferred from his mobile device.
The Devon and Cornwall police informed child protection teams, who successfully located the man by tracking down a play park where some of the less explicit photographs were captured.
The police thoroughly investigated all individuals in the vicinity until they identified the person depicted in the photographs. The photographs were timestamped, allowing the detective to locate the CCTV footage from the specific time and see the father and his daughter.
The authorities searched the 38-year-old’s residence in Devon and were able to compare the furniture and wallpaper found there and the scene depicted in the images.
The father captured images of his nine-year-old and 14-year-old daughters while they were asleep, deliberately exposing their undergarments or intimate areas by uncovering the bedclothes.
In addition, he posted photographs of the underage girl’s attire, bathing suits, and undergarments on two online platforms and solicited explicit images of minors in exchange.
The NSPCC described the case as profoundly disturbing and said it shows the need for tighter control of the internet and the tech companies which host chat sites.
A spokesperson for the NSPCC in the South West of England said: “It is profoundly disturbing that a father would use images of his daughter as part of the appalling online trade of indecent images.
“It is vital that tech firms do everything possible to prevent this material being shared online. We hope his victims now receive the appropriate support to help them recover from their ordeal.”
The man admitted production, possession, making and distribution of indecent images of children when he appeared at Exeter Crown Court.
He was jailed for 15 months, suspended for two years and sent on a sex offenders treatment course by Recorder Mr James Waddington, QC.
He was put on the sex offenders’ register and made subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for ten years. The prevention order forbids any unsupervised contact with the girl and enables the police to monitor his internet use.
The judge told him: ”The severe aggravating factor in this case is that the victims were your children. There was a grave breach of trust by a father to his children.
“You told the police you were protecting your family, but you were doing precisely the opposite. You were exploiting your children and not protecting them at all.”
Miss Felicity Payne, prosecuting, said undercover officers at the National Crime Agency detected a man who was discussing child abuse and exchanging images in two chatrooms in November 2019.
He used aliases, including Devonmad2021, on the Wicca and Discord sites, but at that stage, police could not trace the mobile phone sending the images.
They asked for help from police in Devon, and he was traced because a trampoline park in the background of some of his images was identified.
Miss Payne said: ”His identification can be put down to good old-fashioned police work, investigating the images and finding the location of a trampoline park where they were taken.
“The CCTV was viewed, and he was identified based on the date and time his photographs were taken. Police went to his home address and seized his Samsung phone.
“The inside of the property was compared to other photographs and matched those distributed online regarding the wallpaper and other characteristics.
“Officers could also compare the young girl with the images, even though her head had been cropped out, and it was confirmed it was his nine-year-old daughter. Items of clothing also confirmed he had taken the images.”
There were 90 images on his phone, including 32 of his daughters. He had shared seven of these online, including one showing her private parts, which were taken when she was sleeping.
The father told police he felt pressured to take and send the images by other members of the online groups and feared his phone would be hacked if he did not comply. He said he felt very protective towards his daughter.
Mr Will Parkhill said his client had lost his marriage, his family, his home and his job as a result of his actions and is desperate to address the underlying cause of his offending.
He said the man had been assessed as having learning difficulties and special needs at school and had received extra support as an adult.
He said: ”This was a man who did not understand what he got himself into other than knowing it was very wrong.”
If you or anyone you know have been affected by the people highlighted in this article, then please report those individuals to the Police on 101 (999 if an emergency) or visit their online resources for further details of the options for reporting a crime. You can also make a report at Crimestoppers should you wish to be completely anonymous. There is help available on our support links page.