Seven Men Found Guilty In UK-Wide Paedophile Network Investigation

Two men have been found guilty of conspiring to rape and sexually assault a child at Bristol Crown Court.

The two convictions follow guilty pleas by five other men in the same case, brought by the National Crime Agency (NCA).

John Denham, 49, formerly known as Benjamin Harrop, from Wiltshire, was found guilty of conspiring to commit sexual assault against a child and possessing and distributing indecent images of children. And Matthew Stansfield, 34, from Hampshire, was found guilty of conspiring to rape a child under 13.

The men are understood to have been part of paedophile network, that targetted mainly babies and infants, according to the NCA.

Five other men, charged in the same investigation, pleaded guilty to similar charges. They are:

• Adam Toms, 33, from Somerset

• Christopher Knight, 35m from Manchester

• Robin Hollyson, 30, from Bedfordshire

• David Harsley, 51 from Hull

• Matthew Lisk, 32, from East Sussex

The court heard how the group of men shared indecent images and videos of children being abused, communicating via social networking forums.

Chat logs obtained revealed members of the group offering advice and guidance to others regarding how much drug to administer to a child, depending on their age.

Graham Gardner, Deputy Director of Investigations at the National Crime Agency said: "We rarely see criminal behaviour involving the sexual abuse of children to this degree. This is serious organised crime as its worst and is precisely the type of work the National Crime Agency will be focusing on.

"The men involved in this group actively targeted families to facilitate the sexual abuse of their children, toddlers and babies. The depravity of these men appeared to know no bounds and is without doubt as vile as we have seen.

"The NCA will continue to work with our partners, at home and abroad, to ensure those who abuse children are brought to justice."

(MH/CD)