A man who paid for and directed the sexual abuse of children in Romania and the Philippines while he watched from home has been jailed.
Eamon Goodfellow, 50, paid people overseas to seek out children under 13 and, once found, told them to perform specific sex acts on them while he watched from his home in Hertfordshire.
National Crime Agency (NCA) officers found conversations between Goodfellow and his collaborators detailing the crime when they arrested him in June 2018 and confiscated his electronic devices.
An NCA spokesperson said: “A number of chat logs were recovered which showed Goodfellow discussing the abuse of children with facilitators, one of whom was based in the Philippines and the other in Romania. In the chats, Goodfellow was shown to be actively seeking children under 13.
“When a child at the right age was identified, he would direct the facilitators to perform certain sexual acts on the children with a view to live-streaming the offending. Evidence showed that he sent payment to the facilitators to carry out the abuse.”
Goodfellow, of St Albans, Hertfordshire, was found guilty of two counts of attempting to cause the sexual exploitation of a child following a six-day trial.
On Wednesday he received a jail sentence of four years and nine months at St Albans Crown Court, as well as a 10-year sexual harm prevention order. He will also be on the sex offenders register for life.
Martin Ludlow from the NCA said: “Goodfellow made it very clear that he has sexual interest in young children in these chat logs.
“He attempted to arrange for the most horrific abuse of vulnerable children thousands of miles away from him for his own gratification.
“He was helped by facilitators whose motive is to make money. This kind of financially-driven offending is a key threat to the UK.
“The NCA works with international law enforcement partners to safeguard children, as well as identify and disrupt those willing to fund and carry out this abuse.”
He added: “The NCA has an excellent relationship with agencies in the Philippines and actively supports the work of the Philippine Internet Crimes Against Children Centre.”
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