ROBERT DAVIES OF NOTTINGHAM SENTENCED FOR CYBER CRIMES AND CHILD SEXUAL OFFENCES
A Nottingham man, Robert Davies, aged 32, has been sentenced to over two years in prison after admitting to illegal activities involving the hacking of victims' devices to spy on them and collect indecent images of both children and adults.The National Crime Agency (NCA) began investigating Davies in 2019 after discovering he had purchased various cybercrime tools, including crypters and remote administration tools (RATs).
He was also identified as a customer of WeLeakInfo, a marketplace for stolen credentials that was shut down last year following an NCA-led operation.
Davies concealed malicious software on his victims' phones and computers by disguising it with crypters, preventing antivirus detection.
Using RATs, he remotely accessed their devices to steal sexual images, predominantly of females.
On at least one occasion, he exploited his access to spy on a teenage girl via her webcam, capturing indecent images.
Authorities recovered this footage along with 27 other indecent images and videos of children from his devices.
Further investigations revealed that Davies used numerous fake online profiles to contact victims through various messaging platforms.
He aimed to establish relationships with them and then attack their devices by sending malicious links.
Evidence indicated that such activities had been ongoing for several years.
Throughout the investigation, NCA officers identified and visited over 30 victims.
Davies was arrested three times between November 2019 and August 2021.
During these arrests, officers examined his devices, revealing the full extent of his offending.
On September 2, Davies pleaded guilty to 24 counts under the Computer Misuse Act, as well as charges of voyeurism, possession of indecent images of children, making such images, and possessing extreme pornographic material.
Subsequently, he was sentenced on January 11 at Nottingham Crown Court to 26 months in prison.
Additionally, he was ordered to register as a sex offender, placed under a 10-year restraining order protecting five victims, and subjected to a 10-year sexual harm prevention order.
Andrew Shorrock, Operations Manager of the NCA’s National Cyber Crime Unit, commented: “Davies had amassed what can only be described as a cyber criminal’s toolkit.
Not only was he using these tools to break into people’s devices, he was spying on them and stealing naked images of them for his own sexual gratification.
Even more disturbing is the fact that at least one of his victims was a teenager, and we found a collection of child sexual abuse images and videos on his computer.
The NCA emphasizes reducing the availability and accessibility of off-the-shelf cybercrime tools as a key strategy.
They work with various partners to target cybercriminal infrastructure, aiming to disrupt and deter this type of offending.
