Sex offenders caught by Merseyside Police device-monitoring software

Jackson, of Liverpool, was jailed for two years, while Stanley, of St Helens, was handed a 32-month sentence

Two registered sex offenders have been jailed after being caught sharing an indecent video of a child by a police force's device-monitoring software.

Merseyside Police said Connor Jackson and Thomas Edward Stanley were arrested on 24 March after the software alerted officers to the offence.

The men, aged 27 and 33, were given prison terms at Liverpool Crown Court.

The force said it was "the first time the pioneering system" had been used "successfully" to identify offending.

Jackson, of Seel Street in Liverpool, was jailed for two years on Thursday, while Stanley, of Phoenix Brow in St Helens, was handed a 32-month sentence on 1 June.

The force said the pair were arrested simultaneously after its software "flagged that Jackson had accessed a suspicious image on his device".

It said it had invested in the system to "improve monitoring of registered sex offenders and their online activity".

'Very clear message'

Officers found that Jackson had been in conversation with a man "who had sent him a video of another screen which displayed an indecent video of a boy", it said.

A police representative said the shared video was followed by a text message, which read: "Not the best quality but I'll get a USB for you tomorrow."

A subsequent search of Stanley's home revealed the USB referred to in the messages, which contained indecent images of the most serious nature, and other devices, which also contained such images.

They said Jackson's phone was also seized and was also found to contain the most serious indecent images of children.

They added that both men were charged and later pleaded guilty to multiple breaches of their sexual harm prevention orders as well as possession of indecent images of a child, while Stanley also admitted making and distributing indecent images of a child.

Speaking after sentencing, Det Insp Steven O'Neill said the case sent "a very clear message to the public that we will do everything in our power, and use all tools at our disposal, to target offenders and bring them to justice".