Craig Chittenden, from Willington, was arrested after FBI special agents informed police in Durham about his depraved activities and hobbies
Image: Durham Constubulary)
A sex predator who appeared on Channel 4’s Countdown has been jailed for 12 years after committing child abuse in the US from his home in the UK.
Craig Chittenden, from County Durham, was found to have exchanged text messages with a woman abusing her child while he watched.
The 33-year-old was arrested after FBI special agents in Dallas, Texas, alerted Durham Constabulary to his activities.
Officers executed a search warrant at Chittenden’s home in Willington, where he revealed he had ‘accessed some pictures’ and that police would ‘find them on his phone’.
After searching his phone, it was discovered that Chittenden had been in contact with like-minded people in the US and incited sexual acts with young children, ChronicleLive report.
(
Image:
Durham Constubulary)
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Chittenden testified that he had no interest in children but admitted to being sexually aroused by 1,000 indecent images found on his device.
The 33-year-old was charged last October for creating indecent, possessive images. extremely erotic images, Distributing indecent images, creating conditions for criminals to sexually abuse children and incite sexual exploitation of children.
He received a 12-year prison sentence in Durham Crown Court on Friday.
The judge commented on how emotionless and detached Chittenden was during sentencing and told him he was a “dangerous offender”.
DC Digital Online Investigator Georgina Lewis said: “The Digital Investigations team works extremely hard to protect young people from harm and bring perpetrators of child sexual exploitation to the forefront. justice and I hope today’s results prove it.
“Chittenden was a sexual predator who tried to hide his crimes online and encourage like-minded people in the United States to engage in child sex acts.
“This is a complex investigation, but thanks to the collaborative investigative efforts between Texas Police and us, he had no choice but to plead guilty.”
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https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/countdown-winner-jailed-12-years-26273074 Countdown winner jailed for 12 years after discussing child rape and murder