Washington man who paid to watch child torture online jailed
- Published
Brian Cairns admitted four offences and was jailed for 13 years
A paedophile who paid people thousands of miles away to abuse and torture children while he watched online has been jailed.
Brian Cairns sent money to abusers in the Philippines who would carry out acts on his behalf, police said.
Some of the victims were as young as six, Northumbria Police said.
Cairns, 60, from Washington, admitted four offences and was jailed at Newcastle Crown Court for 13 years with an extended one-year licence.
A Northumbria Police spokeswoman said Cairns was investigated by the force's Paedophile Online Investigation team (POLIT) after they received intelligence he had been paying money into overseas accounts to purchase child sexual abuse materials.
'A danger to children'
His home on Pendle Close was raided in April 2019 with police seizing devices including a laptop.
Specialists later found a hidden hard drive which contained 11 child abuse images as well as Skype messages outlining the abuse Cairns wanted to see carried out on children,
He admitted two counts of inciting the sexual exploitation of a child and two counts of making indecent photographs of a child.
Following sentencing, Det Con Ian Beecroft said: "Cairns is clearly a danger to children and so it is only right he is behind bars for a long time where he can no longer abuse or harm anyone for his own gratification."
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