6 January 2018
A child sex offender has been jailed for a sustained campaign to get children to send indecent images to him.
Patrick McDonald, 23, of Crumlin, Northern Ireland was yesterday jailed for four-and-a-half years in prison at Reading Crown Court yesterday following a National Crime Agency (NCA) investigation.
The judge said the scale of his offending involving children from all across the UK was ‘breathtaking’.
McDonald pretended to be a teenaged girl using fake Facebook profiles – and would lure young boys into sending pictures and performing sexual activities.
Speaking at the court, Judge Grainger said McDonald had targeted “thousands of children”, adding: “The scale of the offending was breathtaking.”
The NCA are working with the police to identify and safeguard the children targeted by McDonald, who was also placed on the sex offender’s register for life and put under an indefinite sexual harm prevention order.
McDonald attempted to establish contact with potential victims online using Facebook profiles.
If boys replied McDonald would quickly begin sending sexual messages including explicit pictures of women’s bodies.
He incited a number of children to send him indecent pictures of themselves and in many cases to engage in sexual activity.
Following McDonald’s arrest, he admitted to NCA officers he had offended against at least 500 victims, though the real number is believed to be higher.
He pleaded guilty last year to making indecent images of children and inciting children to engage in sexual acts.
The NCA has found no evidence he committed contact offences.
Facebook provided information which assisted with the investigation.
Martin Ludlow, operations manager at the NCA, said: “We have identified and brought to justice a prolific offender who has exploited the trust of many, many children. In cases like these their welfare is our paramount consideration.
“We and our partners remain determined to take action against criminals who exploit online tools and apps to abuse children.”
http://www.devonlive.com/news/devon-news/child-sex-offender-targeted-thousands-1020594
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