A PAEDOPHILE from Basingstoke who watched "grotesque" live footage of children being sexually abused and tortured in the Philippines has been jailed for 11 years.

Thomas Sloman was found guilty by a jury of 19 counts at Winchester Crown Court relating to making thousands of indecent images of children, and attempting to commission sexual offences against children.

The court heard that the 43-year-old, of Cairngorm Close, Buckskin, asked the people running the commercial operation to "punish" and "torture" the children for his own sexual gratification.

Chat logs showed he actively solicited for images online and arranged to view abuse over the internet.

He asked what ages the children were and requested to see girls as young as four or five, and also tried to arrange contact with the young victims.

Sloman, whose wife is Filipino, had visited the Philippines on a number of occasions, and chat room records showed he referred to repeatedly raping a young girl. 

Defending Sloman, Nick Tucker said: "He does claim to have had young girls before in the Philippines and says he has had sex with them."

He added: "One way which he's seeking gratification is to boast about what he may or may not have already done in the past."

Mr Tucker described the offences as "monstrous" adding: "I don't shy away from that."

Referring to Sloman's two young sons, he said: "There's no suggestion that he's been anything but a good and loving father to them. It's mystifying how someone can compartmentalise their life in such a way to be a devoted father and then commit these offences to other people's children."

Officers from the National Crime Agency (NCA) raided Sloman's home in January 2015, seizing a number of computers and electronic devices.

Forensic analysis showed they contained around 12,000 indecent images, including more than 2,000 classed as category A, indicating the worst forms of abuse.

Many of the images were screen-grabs taken from live webcam streams.

There were also records or more than 110,000 online chats, many of which were encrypted.

Sloman was charged with 10 counts of making indecent images of children and nine counts of commissioning or attempting to commission sexual offences against children, between 2008 and 2014.

In court he denied the charges, claiming that his computer had been hacked, but on May 26 at Winchester Crown Count a jury found him guilty of all charges following a four day trial.

He was sentenced on Friday, September 9 to 11 years in prison, with a further two-and-a-half years supervision order.

He will also stay on the sex offenders' register for life.

Judge Nigel Lickley QC said: "The exploitation of children for sexual gratification is not only rightly regarded by all right thinking people as extremely serious in terms of criminal offending it's also repellent."

He added: "I have been reminded today that I described your criminal activity as grotesque and that's an apt word to use."

The judge said the offences were "evil" and reflected the "depths the poor members of the worldwide society will go to make a few dollars".

He said the victims were probably being subjected to abuse by their own relatives.

Referring to the victims, he said: "Their young lives and bodies are irreparably damaged. They have done nothing wrong but live in a world where people like you have access to the internet and you can prey on their vulnerability for a few minutes of sexual gratification."

He added: "You have no regard or care for the children, their lives and how they are affected. You have a callous disregard for their welfare and wellbeing."

Judge Lickley said Sloman posed a "significant risk to members of the public", adding: "In my view, young female children worldwide are at risk of you from serious harm in relation to your devious interest in children for sexual gratification. You are in denial which in itself is a concerning matter. My conclusion is that you are a dangerous offender."

Referring to Sloman's own children, he said: "They will have to grow up with the realisation of the other life their father lived under the same roof."

Following the sentencing, Jason Booth, from NCA, said: “Thomas Sloman is a dangerous child sex offender who arranged the abuse of vulnerable children.

“The fact he was thousands of miles away makes no difference to his guilt – it was all done for his personal gratification.

“The NCA is actively targeting offenders who pay for live streaming of abuse, because our priority is protecting children, whether they are in the UK or abroad.”