PETERBOROUGH PAEDOPHILE MODERATOR SENTENCED TO 17 YEARS FOR CHILD ABUSE ON DARK WEB

A 62-year-old paedophile who offered online advice on grooming and sexually abusing children has been sentenced to 17 years in prison. Colin Thackeray, from Peterborough, was a prominent moderator on a dark web site dedicated to discussions about the sexual abuse of boys. He was associated with over 2,000 indecent images of children, including 350 classified as Category A, the most severe type. Authorities from the National Crime Agency (NCA) arrested Thackeray at his residence in September 2019, uncovering chat logs on his laptop that revealed his activities. Thackeray pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including three counts of making indecent images and one count of possessing such images in July 2022. In July 2024, he also admitted to aiding in the distribution of indecent images and was convicted by a jury of two counts of encouraging the sexual assault of a child under 13, along with attempting to incite a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity. During investigations, NCA officers confirmed Thackeray communicated directly with an individual he believed to be a 10-year-old, repeatedly requesting sexualized images from the child. Spencer Davies from the NCA emphasized: “Colin Thackeray was extremely active on the dark web, encouraging others to commit offences against children while sharing abhorrent images. He was a high-ranking member on the chat sites, and the logs recovered proved he was a significant threat.” Thackeray now faces a substantial prison sentence along with an extended license period and a lifetime sexual harm prevention order, highlighting the serious nature of his crimes and the efforts to protect children from such offenders.