A teenage childcare student has been jailed for sexually abusing two children and taking photographs of them for a man she met online.

Sophie Elms was 17 when she committed the offences against the children, who were two and three, making her one of the youngest offenders of her type in the UK.

Though she did not commit the offences at the nursery where she was on work placement for her college course, the trial judge said it was a breach of trust because the parents of the victims knew she was studying childcare.

“The parents of these children were comforted by the fact that you were doing a childcare course. In my judgment, this was a breach of trust,” said Jason Taylor.

Jailing her for seven years and 10 months on Monday, Taylor accepted that Elms, from Royal Wootton Bassett in Wiltshire, was troubled and was “targeted and exploited” by the man who incited her to send him images of the children.

But the judge added: “To lay all the responsibility at his door is misleading and, in my opinion, wrong. You were a victim, but also a perpetrator.”

Elms pleaded guilty to 16 offences, said to have taken place between December 2016 and March 2018.

She sobbed as the father of one of the victims read out an impact statement at Swindon crown court. He said: “The damage Sophie Elms has caused to our family is unimaginable. We honestly do not know [the] full extent of damage you have left. What you did could have serious long-term effects.

“We have such a complete lack of trust to anyone … We have made the decision that we cannot stay in Swindon for fear of bumping into you – and that it will be better for us to move. This whole horrific event has damaged us beyond words.’’

Defending, Chris Smyth, said: “From the age of 13, her details were put online as a joke by one of her friends, and she was made to perform sexual acts for men in front of a webcam.”

Following the sentencing, DI Simon Childe of Wiltshire police said: “Understandably, this case has shocked the local community as well as those further afield. Elms is just 18, making her one of the youngest women in the country to be convicted of these types of offences.”