A former Radio One DJ who arranged to have sex with vulnerable children in the Philippines has been jailed for 12 years.
Mark Page has been found guilty of “grotesque sexual abuse” of children as young as 12. Two of the charges related to contact he had via a webcam from his home, while two happened during his frequent trips to the Philippines.
The sentencing judge said that Page had taken advantage of the children’s poverty in order to commit his crimes. He said: “The offences of which you have been convicted involve the grotesque sexual abuse of young children for your own sexual gratification.
“You took advantage of the poverty and deprivation in an under-developed country in which children are routinely forced, through economic and social deprivation, into acts of prostitution.
“Your sole purpose was to engage children, as young as 12, in vile sexual activity to satisfy your perverted appetites.”
Page, who worked at Radio One in the 1980s, had even tried to bargain down the price for a sexual encounter with a girl aged 12 and a boy of 13, a court heard. He said that 3,000 pesos - around £44 - was too much.
The disgraced DJ had used frequent business trips to the Philippines, as well as charity work, as a cover for his interest in underage sex.
Prosecutor Jo Kidd told the court that it was recently estimated that 60,000 children in the Philippines had been forced into prostitution and the situation had been made worse by “crippling poverty” caused by lockdown.
Detective Sergeant Kevin Carter from the Paedophile Online Investigation Team welcomed the sentence and said it may act as a deterrent for others.
He added: “The court heard how Page attempted to present himself as a respectable and credible individual, yet his actions betrayed the trust and confidence of many people, not least his family and close friends.”
