A PAEDOPHILE from Monmouth, Wales, Stephen Lane, has received a nine-year prison sentence after National Crime Agency investigators demonstrated that he had financed the live-streamed exploitation of minors.
Stephen Lane, 55 years old, came to the notice of the NCA after the apprehension of a person in the Philippines involved in enabling child abuse. Lane had executed three transactions to her using PayPal, amounting to around 5750 Filipino Pesos.
Between 22 March and 7 April 2023, Stephen Lane enquired about the ages of youngsters seen in explicit photographs and requested to access content featuring an eight-year-old in return for remuneration.
On 25 May 2023, NCA officers apprehended Stephen Lane at his residence and confiscated many gadgets. Following careful consideration, he remarked, “I acknowledge it is incorrect.”
A digital analysis indicated that Stephen Lane had interacted with 19 distinct Filipino women to get shows depicting the abuse of children as young as five.
In communications before to and during video chats, he consistently expressed apprehensions regarding value for money, declining to make payment until he could verify the ages of the youngsters displayed on screen. On multiple instances, he orchestrated the maltreatment of youngsters through the chat feature. A number of those children were characterised as the daughters of the women.
On 11 September 2024, Stephen Lane admitted guilt to soliciting sexual services from a minor, instigating the sexual exploitation of a minor, deliberately promoting the dissemination of indecent images of minors, and producing one Category A, two Category B, and twelve Category C indecent images of minors.
On 17 December 2024, Stephen Lane was sentenced at Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court to nine years imprisonment.
The facilitators in the Philippines have been arrested and the children involved safeguarded.
Phil Eccles, Operations Manager at the National Crime Agency, said: “The live streamed sexual abuse of children is often facilitated by neighbours, friends or family members of victims, but demand for it is driven by offenders sat behind their screens.
“Stephen Lane was one of these offenders; he repeatedly sought out, paid for and directed abhorrent abuse over multiple years, bartering over the price of horrific content, and requesting explicit videos of children as young as five.
“This result demonstrates our resolve to pursue those who pose a sexual risk to children, and our commitment to joint work with international counterparts in the Philippines to ensure they face justice.”
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.