Leominster child rapist who shared video online jailed

Thomas Gwilliam-Carter admitted raping the girl after drugging her with a sedative

A paedophile who drugged and raped a young girl before distributing videos of the abuse online has been jailed.

Thomas Gwilliam-Carter, 39, from Leominster, was identified by investigators after vile images he posted were found on devices belonging to a US suspect arrested by the FBI.

More than 3,600 indecent images of children were found on Gwilliam-Carter's phone after his arrest.

He was sentenced to 15 years and nine months at Worcester Crown Court.

Some of the images retrieved, in the most severe categories, showed babies being abused, said the National Crime Agency (NCA).

Using the online pseudonym "keepedging247" chat logs showed the electrician told other paedophiles on an online platform that he planned to drug a child to make attacking her easier.

He later admitted that he had given the child the sedative Phenergan.

She has now been safeguarded, the NCA said.

'Most terrible abuse'

At a hearing on 7 December, Gwilliam-Carter pleaded guilty to one count of raping a child under 13.

He also admitted three counts of making indecent images of children and five counts of distributing them.

In court on Thursday he was handed the sentence with eight years' extended licence.

He was also given a lifetime sexual harm prevention order and placed on the sexual offenders register for life.

NCA operations manager Phil Eccles said: "Gwilliam-Carter inflicted the most terrible abuse on a young girl and distributed videos he'd made of it online, all for his and other paedophiles' pleasure.

"Child sexual abuse is a global threat and this case highlights why the NCA's close cooperation with international partners is so vital in tackling it."