A MAN from Tadley has avoided jail time after watching a live stream online of a four-year old girl being sexually abused.

Gareth Gascoigne-Leopold was one of six individuals from the UK who logged into the chat-room while the abuse was streamed live for across the globe in December 2015.

The 35-year-old appeared at Lewes Crown Court on Friday, 29 September where he was sentenced to five years behind bars, suspended for two years, and given a 10 year sexual harm prevention order.

The court heard how Gascoigne-Leopold was arrested on July 4, of this year at Gatwick Airport as part of a wider National Crime Agency (NCA)-led investigation into the streaming of child sexual abuse through an online video conferencing platform.

The girl in question is from Denmark. She has since been identified and is being safeguarded by authorities.

In sentencing Judge Recorder Swirsky said: “Images you watched were vile and the children involved are likely to be scarred for life.”

The other five individuals from the UK identified at the same time as Gascoigne-Leopold have been arrested, and are now at various stages in the criminal justice system.

Graham Ellis from the NCA’s Child Exploitation and Online Protection Command said: “The abuse this little girl suffered was unimaginable. That it was also streamed live around the world makes it even more horrific.
 

“The individuals who were logged into the forum to watch this abuse thought they would remain anonymous. But they thought wrong – there is no hiding place.

 “Using all the powers and means available to us, we will identify and locate those who seek to exploit children for their own sexual pleasure and bring them to justice.”