Paedophile Jailed for Directing Child Abuse Videos in the Philippines

Mark Terry, 55, has been sentenced to nine years in prison for directing child abuse videos in the Philippines. Terry, previously of Maidstone Road, Ashford, admitted to using an online payment website to send money to women in exchange for videos of them sexually abusing girls.

An investigation by the Paedophile Online Investigation Team revealed that Terry frequently paid between £15 and £25 for videos lasting between two and three minutes, sent live via a messaging app. Police searched Terry's home in February 2018 and seized his computer, which contained around 7,000 indecent images of children.

Terry was charged in March 2020 and pleaded guilty to 15 counts of encouraging or assisting the commission of a child sex offence and four counts of possessing indecent images of children. He was sentenced at Canterbury Crown Court on Friday, 8 August 2021.

Detective Constable Lee Sparks of the Paedophile Online Investigation Team said: "This case is a disturbing example which highlights how easily children can be harmed online by strangers. Terry has been the cause of the most horrific abuse of young girls, and despite not being physically present at the time of the assaults, he is responsible for them."

"It is saddening that we may never be able to safeguard these young victims, and the case serves as a reminder that we must do everything in our power to protect the vulnerable, wherever they may be. This was a lengthy and complex investigation, and it took considerable time to fully ascertain the extent of Terry's offending. The judge recognised the severity of Terry's crimes, issuing him a lengthy custodial sentence," he added.