Wisbech paedophile who abused young girls and paid others to abuse children jailed
He'll spend 15 years in prison
A Wisbech paedophile who abused two young girls and paid almost £5,000 for adults to abuse other children around the world has been jailed for 15 years.
Nathan Lovell, 33, sexually abused the girls in Wisbech between January 2021 and June last year.
When officers arrested him, they found indecent images of children on his phone, including 1226 category C images or videos, 18 category B images or videos and 14 category A – the most severe.
Officers also discovered screen recordings where Lovell was taking part in online conversations directing and paying for children to be abused by other adults.
In one of the recordings Lovell could be seen on the front-facing camera.
In another of the conversations, which took place between February and April last year, he promised a puppy as payment to an adult about to abuse a young girl.
Officers tell us they then carried out further enquiries with social media companies, which revealed further instances of Lovell paying for child sex abuse online.
In total, he spent about £4,800.
Lovell, of Opportune Road, Wisbech, was charged with 18 counts in total, including:
• Four counts of sexually assaulting a child under 13 by touching
• Three counts of making indecent images or videos of children
• 11 counts of arranging or facilitating the sexual exploitation of a child under 13
He pleaded guilty to the three indecent image charges at his first court hearing but denied the others.
However, after an eight-day trial at Cambridge Crown Court in December, jurors found him guilty by unanimous verdict on all 15 other charges.
Lovell was sentenced at the same court on Monday (19 February) where he was handed a total of 15 years in prison, with an extended four years on licence.
"Significant risk"
During sentencing, Judge Mark Bishop said Lovell posed a “significant risk” to children and there was an unpredictability to his future behaviour.
A restraining order banning Lovell from contacting the two sexual assault victims was also put in place for 25 years, along with a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) for the same timeframe to monitor any future offending.
He must sign the Sex Offenders Register for life.
"Protecting young people from harm is one of our top priorities"
DC Ollie Plant, from the force’s Child Abuse Investigation and Safeguarding Unit (CAISU), said: “Our thoughts are with the two young girls targeted by Lovell in the most horrific of ways, and his other victims who were targeted online.
“We are pleased he has now been brought to justice and hope the sentence gives his victims and their families some closure from this traumatic period in their lives.
“What Lovell did in paying other adults to abuse children across the world will no doubt be shocking to many. A child is victimised when an indecent image is taken and every time it is viewed or shared.
“Protecting young people from harm is one of our top priorities and we have specially trained officers who are there to support victims and bring offenders to justice.”