Hampshire paedophile Paul Hopkins raped a child and organised live-streamed child abuse from the Philippines

A Hampshire paedophile who raped a girl in the UK and organised a live-stream of child abuse from the Philippines has been jailed for 22 years.

Fifty-year-old Paul Hopkins in total admitted 25 child sexual abuse offences. He was arrested in March last year after an investigation by the South West Regional Organised Crime Unit (SWROCU). As well as the 22-year term he will have to serve eight years on licence.

Officers found Hopkins was attempting to make plans online to meet a young girl to sexually abuse. This led to the discovery that he was livestreaming the abuse of a nine-year-old girl in the Philippines, facilitated by her mother. The victim was safeguarded and the mother was arrested.

Investigators went on to find evidence on Hopkins’ devices of further offences, including the non-recent rape, attempted rape and sexual assault of a young girl in the UK.

The Crown Prosecution Service authorised 25 charges of sexual offences involving children, and the overwhelming evidence led to Hopkins pleading guilty to all counts.

DI Dave Wells from the Online Investigations Team at SWROCU said: “Paul Hopkins is the most dangerous sex offender my team has investigated, not only due to the severity and number of crimes he has been convicted of, but fact he offered advice to other offenders on how to avoid detection when accessing material and livestreaming abuse.

“His sentence not only reflects the huge harm he has caused, but the level of risk he posed to children here and in other parts of the world.

“My team, and teams across the country, are working with national and international law enforcement partners to target such offenders. I hope anyone using the internet to access child sexual abuse material or livestream such abuse under the illusion they are anonymous or hard to trace, is now looking over their shoulder knowing they could be next.”

Hopkins, from Romsey, was sentenced at Bournemouth Crown Court on Thursday. He was also given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

Daniel Newell, Regional Manager for the Philippines at the National Crime Agency said: “The sentencing shows that no matter where you are in the world, if you pay for children to be sexually abused, you will be identified and brought to justice.

“Through our International Liaison Network, officers from the NCA have worked closely with the Philippines National Police (PNP) Woman and Children Protection Unit and International Justice Mission (IJM) to identify, locate and safeguard the victim in this case, and I would like to thank them for their continued support in countering the proliferation of live-streamed child abuse.

“We know the Philippines is a key hub for this type of abuse, with the UK representing one of the top three consumers, so our work with the Philippine Internet Crimes Against Children Center (PICACC) is crucial to combat this threat.

 “We will continue to work collaboratively with global partners to tackle this crime by sharing intelligence and working together on joint operations, and we are committed to protecting any child across the globe who we become aware may be at risk”.

Sentencing Hopkins, HH Judge Fuller described Hopkins as “a predatory and dangerous man”, and that “analysis carried out by officers showed the abuse as extensive.”