Judge tells men who abused babies and young children while hiding behind veil of respectability that their actions were ‘contrary to all humanity’

Seven members of a paedophile gang involved in the rape and abuse of babies and young children have been jailed for a total of 78 years.



The British gang – described as having “tentacles that go round the world” – streamed attacks on the internet which were seen on every continent. The men preyed on the families of the children they targeted, in one case grooming a mother and father before their baby was born.

Members would frequently travel long distances to carry out the attacks together, or would watch the abuse over the internet – sometimes using the dark web – if only one of them had access to a victim. Records of online conversations revealed that members of the gang, who lived across the UK, would offer advice and guidance to others on drugging their young victims.

The seven men, aged between 31 and 51 and including three convicted sex offenders, were brought to justice following an investigation led by the National Crime Agency (NCA). They were convicted of 29 child sex abuse offences, including conspiracy to rape and the multiple rape of a child aged under 13.



Passing sentence at Bristol crown court, Judge Julian Lambert said: “In the worst nightmare, from the very deepest recesses of the mind, at the darkest hour of the night, few can have imagined the terrifying depravity which you men admit.

“What you contemplated and what you did involved the most horrific abuse of a baby and very young children. Your thoughts and deeds are beyond human instinct and reason, and are evil beyond rational understanding.

“You men indulged yourselves in some of the most depraved and grossly deviant behaviour imaginable. The depth to which you sank is astounding and highly shocking to all decent people. What you did is contrary to all nature and humanity and you each appear to have a chilling tendency to centre the world on yourselves and your depraved desires without regard for the innocent and vulnerable.

“Your conduct is of deep concern to the public and people are outraged at what you have done. What you did provokes tears in many and makes others feel physically sick. You sought out the darkest materials on the internet and met in cyberspace to discuss your perverted sexual desires. You then planned the most shockingly sordid exploitation of the very young for sexual purposes. Targeting innocent children in that way is utterly abhorrent.”

The men jailed are John Denham, 50, from Wiltshire, Matthew Stansfield, 35, from Hampshire, Adam Toms, 33, from Somerset, Christopher Knight, 35, from Manchester, Robin Hollyson, 31, from Bedfordshire, David Harsley, 51, from Yorkshire, and Matthew Lisk, 33, from Sussex.

Hollyson was jailed for 24 years, Knight for 18 years, Toms for 12 years, Stansfield for 10 years, Denham for eight years, Lisk for four years and Harsley for two years.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Jailed members of the paedophile gang (from left) John Denham, Matthew Stansfield, Matthew Lisk, David Harsley, Robin Hollyson, Christopher Knight and Adam Toms. Photograph: National Crime Agency/PA

Prosecuting, Robert Davies said he would not go into graphic detail in open court about the offences, nor the content of online chat logs, footage and images recovered because they were so disturbing.

A baby, aged between three and seven months at the time of the abuse, and two boys aged around four have been identified as victims but another 21 children have been the subject of safeguarding measures in relation to the investigation. Davies said the impact on the victims and their families was “profound and long-lasting”.

Hollyson – who was previously known as Robin Fallick – Stansfield and Harsley are convicted sex offenders while Denham, who changed his name from Benjamin Harrop, was once a youth football coach.

The gang hid behind a veil of respectability, with careers and families, to habitually target children under the age of five in Yorkshire and the south-east and south-west.

The NCA, which led the investigation, said the men met after discussing their sexual interests in young children on legitimate social media and adult sex sites. The gang was described as “incredibly skilled” at grooming victims’ families, even striking up relationships with pregnant women to abuse their babies.

Graham Gardner, deputy director of investigations at the NCA, said: “They don’t stand out as monsters, but they are monsters in disguise. This is serious organised crime at its worst. 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 launched its investigation, codenamed Operation Voicer, last September after Toms contacted police and admitted he had abused a child. Their inquiries led to the unmasking of the ring operating across the UK, which had links to other paedophiles across the world. In the weeks that followed, the other six members were arrested and the further two victims were identified.

Police combed the suspects’ electronic communications and established that contact between them began on adult online sex forums, which are publicly accessible and legal to use. Investigators recovered Skype chat logs that recorded conversations between the men, which police described as disgusting and abhorrent.

The exchanges – which were never meant to have been discovered as the men went to great lengths to destroy their online activities – included references to “nep”, a term investigators had not come across before. It is a shortening of “nepiophile”,a person sexually attracted to babies and toddlers. There were also references to controlled drugs and over-the-counter medicines, with members of the ring openly discussing what dosages were needed to drug children of different ages.

Police said an “incredible” amount of planning went into gaining access to victims.

Ian Glover, senior investigating officer, said: “We’ve encountered grooming where the family have been groomed prior to birth of the baby. They go in that early with the sole intention of abusing that baby once it’s born.”

Extensive planning went into enabling the abuse to be screened over the internet to co-conspirators and other paedophiles around the world.

Members of the gang established a way to broadcast their activities without transferring files in a way that could be easily traced, instead using a video conferencing site to stream their abuse, the court heard.

Images of abuse relating to the case are believed to have been seen on every continent and police have circulated evidence about other suspected paedophiles to authorities in Europe, South America and Australia. There was no business element to the activities, with no evidence of any payment being received.

The family of one victim said: “We would like to thank police, the National Crime Agency and all the other law enforcement agencies involved for their support and handling of what has been a very traumatic and distressing experience for us. No family ever wants to find that their child has been the victim of abuse, nor would they ever knowingly put their child at risk. As a family we now need to mend – seeing the perpetrators being brought to justice is the first step.”

A spokesman for the NSPCC said: “Targeting children for sexual abuse before they are even born is completely and utterly beyond the pale. Revulsion isn’t strong enough to describe the feeling this gang’s crimes have evoked.



“When they are released from prison the authorities must ensure they never have the opportunity to pose a threat to any other child. And those babies, toddlers and families affected by this deeply disturbing abuse must get all the support they need to rebuild their lives.

“Fortunately this group of deviants has been caught. But it shows that there is still a long way to go for technology companies and social media networks who work with police to identify and prevent these crimes.”

The NCA said 26 people had been arrested so far in connection with the ongoing investigation. Of those, six were in positions of trust – three teachers, two charity or fundraiser workers and one who was employed by a local authority. More arrests and charges are expected in the UK and abroad.