JAILED: Capel Dewi man shared films of children being raped in Telegram group infiltrated by undercover officer

A 55-year-old man has been jailed for sharing videos of children being raped in a Telegram group he had set up himself.

Michael Fox, of Chestnut Mill, Capel Dewi, near Llandysul, was sentenced at Swansea Crown Court after pleading guilty to distributing three Category A films, the most serious classification, and a fourth, Category B, film.

The court heard the films showed girls aged between eight and 11, and that Fox used the usernames “Foxy” and “Wolf”.

Craig Jones, prosecuting, said Fox had set up what was described as a relatively organised group, and the court heard he “actively recruited” members into it, among them an undercover police officer.

Mr Jones told the court: “The defendant would make sexual comments about children he knew, talking about what amazing bodies they had.”

When officers arrived to arrest him, the court heard, Fox told them: “I’ve been an idiot. I’ve f***** everything up.”

The court heard Fox had shared images through the app over a period of two years.

Sentencing, Judge Paul Thomas KC told Fox the offending was “far too serious to consider anything other than an immediate prison sentence.”

He told him: “The images involved people, somewhere in the world, taking videos of children, in this instance, young girls between the ages of eight and 11 who were then subjected to the most horrific of experiences, to give people like you something to masturbate over.

“The harm both physically and emotionally caused to those young children would have been unspeakable and will no doubt have a life-long impact upon them.

“If there wasn’t a market for it, if it were not for people like you, it would not be occurring.”

In mitigation, Ian Ibrahim said his client had no previous convictions. “The defendant has lost his previous good character,” he said, telling the court Fox was “remorseful, distraught, ashamed and deeply upset by his behaviour”.

Mr Ibrahim told the court: “These offences were committed at the lowest ebb of his life. There are references which speak very highly of him.” Fox now lives in a caravan in a field and suffers with depression, the court heard.

Fox was jailed for two years and four months, made the subject of a 10-year sexual harm prevention order, and must register as a sex offender until 2036. A forfeiture and destruction order was made for a Samsung device, and a victim surcharge is to be paid on his release.