DARYLL TAYLOR RAMSGATE SEX OFFENDER INVOLVED IN RANSOM DEMAND AND CHILD PORNOGRAPHY SCANDAL

In April 2022, a disturbing incident involving Daryll Taylor, a known sex offender from Ramsgate, came to light when he was found to have demanded a ransom for the deletion of a video depicting a teenager's arrest. The High Court heard that Taylor, who has a long history of child abuse image offenses, was mistakenly sent footage showing a vulnerable minor being searched and interviewed. This footage was part of an incident linked to an unrelated matter, which Taylor accessed due to a technical error during a legal process.

According to court proceedings, Taylor contacted the law firm Berrymans Lace Mawer (BLM) and demanded a sum of £4,337.50 in exchange for deleting the video. The court was informed that Taylor, who had previously been jailed in June 2020, was involved in a civil case against Kent Police over damage caused during a home search. During this case, BLM had sent him an automatic invitation to an encrypted system to view evidence related to his case. Due to an unspecified technical glitch, Taylor was inadvertently granted access to videos of the minor involved in the unrelated matter.

Once he downloaded three clips, Taylor alerted the law firm to what he described as a serious privacy breach. The court heard that Taylor then engaged in a series of communications with BLM, during which he threatened to seek an injunction if the videos were not deleted. In response, Taylor demanded a financial payment, claiming it was necessary for him to comply with the deletion request. Mr Justice Saini noted that Taylor was aware the videos were confidential and described his responses as bizarre and uncooperative. The judge emphasized that demanding money as a condition for deleting such sensitive material was illegitimate.

As part of the court's orders, Taylor was required to swear an affidavit detailing the files in his possession and to attend BLM’s office, where an IT expert would remove all copies of the videos from his devices. Taylor dismissed the court's instructions, claiming that his financial demands were a form of mockery and asserting that a private company had no right to make such demands. The court also acknowledged that BLM recognized the seriousness of the data breach and had reported it to the Information Commissioner, who decided not to pursue further action.

Earlier, in April 2013, law enforcement officers had raided Taylor’s Ramsgate residence and uncovered a staggering collection of child sexual abuse images—an estimated eight million photographs and videos. This collection was described by a judge as among the largest ever seized from a single individual. Taylor, who was unemployed at the time, admitted that he had accumulated this vile collection over a period of twelve years. Deputy Circuit Judge Andrew Patience QC condemned the collection, stating that while some collectors gather stamps or memorabilia, Taylor’s material was produced by “beasts” aware of a market for such depravity.

Prosecutor John O’Higgins recounted that police had executed the raid on Taylor’s home in Holbrook Drive in November 2011, where he lived with his parents. Officers from the Child Exploitation Investigations Unit responded to reports that Taylor had been downloading numerous illegal images of children. When police arrived, Taylor’s stepfather answered the door, and his mother expressed that there must be some mistake. Upon speaking with Taylor, officers learned that he had developed an interest in child sex images at a young age, which persisted into adulthood.

An examination of Taylor’s computer equipment revealed over eight million images, which had been meticulously organized. Taylor pleaded guilty to 22 charges related to the illegal downloading of child sexual images, ranging from the lowest to the most severe Level Five offenses. The images included disturbing photographs of children as young as five years old engaged in sexual acts with animals, as well as a 16-minute video depicting a child between nine and ten years old being blindfolded and subjected to sexual assault involving adults and animals.

The court sentenced Taylor to a 12-month jail term, suspended for two years. He was also ordered to complete a specialized course aimed at addressing his sex offending and to attend ten sessions designed to help him secure employment. The judge expressed profound concern over the nature of the images and the suffering of the victims, stating, “These children were subjected to wicked activities causing them terror and psychological damage. I have grave doubts about suspending your prison sentence especially as I have those children in my mind’s eye as I speak.”