A Nottinghamshire man collected hundreds of indecent images of children as young as seven after contacting them on Facebook.
Craig Robinson, of Kirkby in Ashfield, contacted girls in the Philippines through Facebook Messenger, engaging them in sexually explicit conversation.
He would urge them to carry out sex acts and ask them to send indecent pictures of themselves.
Robinson was arrested at his home on Beacon Drive on June 29 after officers from Nottinghamshire Police’s Sexual Exploitation Investigation Unit received a tip-off.
Norfolk and Suffolk Police, which had been leading Operation Bane, an investigation of file-sharing of indecent images via the internet, told them his identity had been traced to Notts.
Once Robinson’s IP or Internet Protocol address had been identified, he was tracked down when police contacted his internet service provider.
When arrested, Robinson, 31, admitted not only downloading and possessing hundreds of images and videos, but also to contacting the girls on social media and sending cash payments through money transfer company to get the material.
His collection included 640 ‘Category A’ images – the most serious category of abuse.
He had already pleaded guilty to a total of 14 charges, including making indecent images of children and causing or inciting the sexual exploitation of a child, when he appeared at Nottingham Crown Court on Friday, 2 September, for sentencing.
He was sentenced to five years in prison, and will serve an extended licence period of an additional three years following his release.
He will also be placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register indefinitely and is subject to the terms of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.
Detective Inspector Pete Quinn, of the Nottinghamshire SEIU, said: “This case demonstrates the importance of the sharing of information between forces and the internet industry.
“We are determined to trace individuals, such as Robinson who use the technology to exploit children for the purposes of their own sexual gratification.
“It is clear that Robinson knew that what he was doing was entirely depraved and illegal, but he continued to seek out this material and to directly encourage his young victims into performing sexual acts for some considerable time.
“This sentence means that not only will Robinson serve a significant prison sentence, but he will spend the rest of his life being monitored to prevent him ever exploiting young children in this way again.
“This sentence means that not only will Robinson serve a significant prison sentence, but he will spend the rest of his life being monitored to prevent him ever exploiting young children in this way again.”
