Covert-camera child abuser hoarded 300,000 sick images

A PAEDOPHILE labelled one of Britain’s most prolific hoarders of child abuse images has been given an indeterminate prison sentence after a judge described him as dangerous.

Daniel Taylor, 31, collected more than 300,000 indecent pictures and films and also secretly filmed himself sexually assaulting a girl, once as a baby and again when she was a toddler, using a hidden camera disguised as a disposable lighter.

Bradford Crown Court heard the father of two used 47 different devices including hard drives, mobile phones, memory sticks and laptops for storing images. They included more than 5,500 depicting the most extreme abuse.

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Imposing the indeterminate sentence Judge Rodney Grant said yesterday that a report had described Taylor as “opportunistic and predatory”.

Ordering him to serve a minimum of three years less time on remand, the judge warned Taylor that he would only be released when no longer considered a danger.

Taylor, a father of two recently of Heights Drive, Leeds, admitted two charges of sexual assault, 20 of making indecent images, four of taking images and possessing around 300,000 images. He also asked for three other offences to be taken into consideration. None of the offences related to his own children.

Judge Grant told him: “Fortunately it is a rare occurrence when a court has to deal with a case such as this involving as it does such a huge volume of child pornography and the sexual assault of a very young child.”

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He said the filming of the small child involved a serious breach of trust when he was meant to be looking after the girl knowing she was in no position to complain or resist.

Taylor was ordered to register as a sex offender for life and was barred under a Sexual Offences Prevention Order from using the internet to search for such images.

Stephen Grattage, prosecuting, said police from the Regional Organised Crime Unit arrested Taylor on December 22 last year.

During the search at his then home in Farnley, Leeds, officers found a tin in the kitchen containing USB sticks and memory cards as well as the lighter camera bought on eBay,

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Of the images and films seen 5,251 were classified at level four and 328 at level five, the most serious, many being duplicated. Officers also found an instruction video on how to abuse children from birth to the age of eight.

Taylor, a gutterer by trade, had encrypted files with passwords one of which was Disneyland.

Kitty Taylor, representing Taylor, said he was remorseful for his actions and now realised the devastating impact of what he had done. The camera was intended to go on a child’s aeroplane and he maintained he had never viewed the instruction video.

Taylor was arrested after the Metropolitan Police alerted the Yorkshire and Humber unit. Using file sharing technology and software from the USA which cross-referenced data on suspects they identified him as their single most prolific user.

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Det Supt Steve Waite said the new technology enabled resources to be targeted on the most prolific offenders, adding: “This is the first of its kind for the Yorkshire and Humber region. It is vital we keep up with technological advances so that we can keep one step ahead.

“Taylor has highlighted during this case that not everyone who sexually assaults children fits into a stereotypical category as he portrayed himself as a caring family man to the outside world, but behind closed doors he was something more sinister.”