A paedophile who photographed himself sexually abusing a child has been jailed for 12 years.
Sean Luke McIntosh’s offending was brought to the attention of Northumbria Police by law enforcement partners, who had captured evidence of him uploading images of illegal child abuse on to the social media site, Discord.
Officers from the Force’s Paedophile Online Investigation Team (POLIT) swiftly visited McIntosh’s home address in North Tyneside to arrest him.
They seized a number of electronic devices, which were then examined, and found to have more than 13,500 files ranging from the most serious Category A images and videos to prohibited images.
When expert victim identification officers began analysing those images, they soon uncovered evidence that McIntosh had also been abusing a child and inciting her to engage in sexual acts with him – and taking photographs of the vile offending.
The 39-year-old was then re-arrested and charged with a total of 13 offences, including taking, possessing and distributing indecent images and sexual assault.
McIntosh, of Castle Square, Backworth, previously appeared at Newcastle Crown Court where he pleaded guilty to all charges.
And today (Friday) he appeared back at the same court where he was jailed for 12 years and issued with a sexual harm prevention order.
Speaking after the sentencing, Detective Constable Elizabeth Biggins, the officer in charge of the case said: “McIntosh’s offending is absolutely despicable and I am pleased he is now behind bars where he can’t pose a danger to anyone else.
“I hope his victim and their family are now able to get a sense of closure and move forward from this ordeal.
“One of the hardest things about my job is making contact with victims and their families to notify them about our investigations.
“Sadly, many children will not even be aware they are victims as predators like McIntosh are experts at coercion and manipulation. Or, if they are aware what has been happening is wrong, they often keep it a secret and live with that trauma for fear of what the offender may do.
“No child should have to fall victim to offending like this and we will continue to work with our law enforcement partners and other agencies, to ensure those at risk are identified and safeguarded, offenders are pursued and brought before the courts.”
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Det Con Biggins added: “This was a thorough investigation and thanks to the hard work of officers and staff from POLIT, victim identification, digital forensics and our partners, a dangerous paedophile is now behind bars.
“We will continue to tackle child abuse and sexual exploitation in all its forms and I would urge anyone who has been a victim of this type of offending, or has concerns about someone’s behaviour, to come forward and talk to us.”
If you have any information or concerns that a child is at risk you can report online using the ‘Tell Us Something’ page on our website, or by calling 101. Always call 999 in an emergency.
