A depraved dad begged undercover police to send him twisted pics and said: "I'm 100% paedo."
Graham Handlon thought he was talking to a fellow pervert online. But the 49-year-old was really chatting to a covert officer - just months after the deviant was previously spared jail for having a stash of sick images.
The dad-of-two revealed he had bought an unregistered pay as you go phone "for all my paedo". And he boasted: "There's no limits with me. I'm just a dirty c***, I’m just into everything. Everything and anything what goes. You know what I mean?"
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Liverpool Crown Court heard Handlon, of Park Crescent, Southport, was handed a two-year community order in January 2020, after he was caught with child rape images. He was given a five-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO).
On November 30 that year he messaged the officer on web forum ChatIW stating "Hi m 47 peD north west no limits" and using the profile name "Bipedlknforbiped". Jamie Baxter, prosecuting, said: "Perhaps bi-sexual paedophile looking for another bi-sexual paedophile, if that's what bi-ped stands for."
Handlon sent him indecent photos and videos before claiming he "did" a girl when she was two. He sent more photos, boasting he had "100s", and asked the officer if he had any photos of his 11-year-old daughter - who the officer pretended to have sexually abused.
The officer said he was "cautious" who he shared images with, but Handlon replied: "I understand that bud, I’m 100% paedo bud." To prove his claims he sent more images and added: "I have vids too."
Handlon revealed he had the 'burner' phone "for all my paedo" and swapped numbers. When they spoke that day, the officer recorded the call.
Handlon asked about the imaginary daughter and said: "Is she sexy as f***?" He added: "Older women don't really do much for me but little girls I like."
He then described himself as a "dirty c***". The pair also exchanged contact details for messaging app Telegram and Handlon said he'd share a 10-minute video of a mum and dad with a little girl.
He sent three child rape videos to the officer, plus a video of himself performing a sex act. Police tracked his phone and found CCTV footage of him buying a top up voucher at the Spar in Roe Lane, Southport on November 7, 2020.
Officers raided his home on January 25, 2021. He handed over a phone and laptop, but didn't produce his Alba mobile, which was discovered hidden inside a plastic bag in his letterbox.
Handlon denied it was his and gave a no comment interview to police. However, his DNA was on its battery, SIM card and storage card, and the number matched his call with the officer.
Police found 1,408 Category A - the most serious category showing child rape - plus 1,463 Category B and 797 Category C indecent images on the device. A further 80 extreme porn images involved animals were found.
He had used a cloud storage device more than 3,000 times. Officers discovered he shared 126 indecent files with other paedophiles on WhatsApp under the name "Big Little" and on Wickr as "UKMember123" from November 2020 to January 2021.
When interviewed again, he admitted the phone was his and he had downloaded the files. He claimed he had been "addicted to pornography" since childhood; wanted to stop offending; and had sought help through courses and books.
Handlon accepted the chats with the officer and sharing the files. He said he "just had a massive problem with it" but denied ever sexually abusing a child.
He admitted three counts of downloading, three counts of distributing and one count of possessing indecent images of children, plus possessing extreme porngraphy and breaching his SHPO. Jim Smith, defending, said: "This defendant has embarked on a personal crusade to ensure his continuing rehabilitation and enlightenment."
He said Handlon hoped to reestablish a relationship with his parents and his two children, who he was separated from. He hadn't seen them for more than a year.
Mr Smith said Handlon had completed 10 sessions of a "Stop It Now!" course, and further courses with the child sexual abuse prevention charity the Lucy Faithfull Foundation, "costing him almost £1,000". He said Handlon had daily support from a mentor to prevent offending and attended Sex Addicts Anonymous sessions in Liverpool.
He said his client's was genuinely remorseful and a rehabilitation programme and unpaid work attached to his previous community order hadn't addressed his issues. The judge, Recorder Ian Harris, said: "The report says he engaged with probation but didn't take his offence seriously at that time."
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Mr Smith said: "I think that's an interpretation which I don't think properly reflects the efforts, or the lack of specific targeting of the motivations for his offending, which subsequently he has voluntarily submitted to." He added if Handlon was jailed he would lose his job, his children would miss financial support and he would lose his home.
Recorder Harris told Handlon: "I'm telling you now there will be an immediate custodial sentence." The judge said in a "sinister aspect" of the case he bought a phone "for your paedophile activities".
He said Mr Smith told the court Handlon's comments about molesting a child were "just bravado" and he wasn't being sentenced for that. But he enjoyed and shared "repulsive" images.
He said a report noted Handlon didn't believe he had the support he needed when previously sentenced, but now "felt sick". The judge said: "You had every opportunity and carried on."
Recorder Harris said Handlon described himself as a "paedophile". He said: "These offences are vile and reflect the corruption and abuse of young children."
The judge jailed him for three years and 10 months. He made a new 15-year SHPO and told Handlon to sign on the Sex Offenders Register for life.
