A man has been jailed in the UK after paying thousands of pounds to watch live streams of children being sexually abused in the Philippines.
Paul Renwick (60) was arrested by the National Crime Agency (NCA) in August 2021 after an investigation identified that his account was being used to make a number of payments to money service bureaus in the Philippines.
He had been communicating with facilitators of live streams, paying money to watch and direct children being sexually abused, some of whom were as young as seven.
Renwick sent at least nine payments to streamers in the Philippines for access to these live feeds between December 2017 and September 2018.
According to the NCA, there is evidence to suggest that he has been paying to watch this abuse since 2005, spending at least £7,000 on payments.
In interview, he agreed that he had sent money over to the Philippines for what he described as “live sex shows” but said he believed those involved in the streams were over 18. He also admitted to being sexually interested in girls aged between 12 and 14 years old.
More than 300 indecent images of children were discovered on his devices following forensic examination – 45 in Category A, 70 in Category B, 172 in Category C, 22 prohibited, and 22 extreme images.
Renwick appeared at Northampton Crown Court and pleaded guilty to three counts of paying for sexual services of a child and three counts of making indecent photographs of a child, one count of possessing an extreme pornographic image and one count of possessing prohibited images of children.
He was sentenced to six years in prison with a 12-month extended license period and an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order at the same court today, 18 November.
Danny Waywell, NCA senior investigating officer, said: “Our investigation evidenced that Paul Renwick was a prolific offender, directing and paying for the sexual abuse of children since 2005.
“Renwick may have thought that the distance between him and the abuse meant he could operate without detection, but the NCA’s work with partners overseas has uncovered the scale of his crimes.
“The NCA will continue to bring criminals like Renwick to justice and pursue those who have any involvement in the abuse of children.”
