A man who live streamed real-time acts of child sexual abuse from the Philippines and shared indecent images of children has been jailed for four years.
Darren Ashton, from Washford in Somerset, regularly accessed the websites and discussed the sharing of images and videos of male children aged 13 and 14.
National Crime Agency (NCA) officers arrested Ashton, 52, at his home following intelligence from the National Bureau of Investigation in the Philippines.
“Ashton was abusing children over the internet, encouraging them to send images and videos, and watching live streamed and real time child sexual abuse from the Philippines,” said NCA operations manager, Danielle Pownall.
“Live streaming exploits vulnerable children and Ashton’s offending means he is directly responsible for the harm it causes them,” she added.
Ashton called himself ‘Daz from England’ online.
He was found to have asked a Singaporean child aged around 11 for indecent pictures in a deleted conversation that was recovered from his phone.
In total – 185 Category A, 244 Category B, 266 Category C and 10 extreme or prohibited indecent images were recovered from his electronic devices.
Ashton initially denied the charges in a police interview but pleaded guilty at Taunton Crown Court on 13 February.
He will also be permanently added to the Sex Offenders Register and is subject to an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order.
Follow BBC Somerset on Facebook and X. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630.
