A "despicable" paedophile has received a life sentence after he was found to have committed "depraved" crimes, including raping a baby and taking pictures of the abuse. Gareth Andrew Davis, 43, of Ashridge Street, Runcorn, appeared at Chester Crown Court on Tuesday after the National Crime Agency (NCA) discovered that indecent photographs had been uploaded to a Google account in his name.
Cheryl Mottram, prosecuting, said NCA investigators had suspicions Davis featured among the 512 child abuse images, and a warrant was executed at his home address. Enquiries established that some of the images were of Davis himself abusing a baby while another photograph was identified as one Davis had secretly taken of a naked child at a beach in North Wales.
Following the NCA investigation, he was arrested and his Samsung phone seized. The court heard Davis gave “no comment” answers when questioned. WhatsApp messages showed Davis had shared some of his sick stash with “a male in the North East" and had discussed abuse in a chat room, Liverpool Echo reports. His depraved collection also featured about 600 pictures of him simulating sexual abuse with a child’s baby doll including with his “hand round the neck simulating strangulation”.
