Cheshire paedophile who ran global child abuse site jailed

A man who helped run a dark web child abuse site used by nearly 90,000 people around the world has been jailed.

Nathan Bake acted as head moderator for the website known as The Annexe.

Chester Crown Court heard he offered advice to other members on how to avoid being caught.

The 28-year-old, of Harrow Drive in Runcorn, Cheshire, was branded a "serious danger" to children and handed a 16-year sentence after admitting a range of offences.

Officers from the National Crime Agency (NCA) said The Annexe was "run very much like a business".

Bake was second in command of the site, which had hundreds of links to child sexual abuse images, including some involving babies and toddlers.

The court heard Bake became a senior moderator of the site in December 2020 and was promoted to head moderator from May 2022, until his arrest in November of that year.

As well as offering advice to other members, he encouraged them to post abuse images. One message he posted read: "Come on people, let's see what you've got for happy hour."

The NCA said 30 people based around the world would work in shifts to moderate the website.

Chats between moderators were like "staff meetings" where they would decide who to let in. Several other people involved have also been jailed in the USA.

Police found hundreds of thousands of abuse images on a hard drive at Bake's home in Runcorn. Indecent images were also found on his mobile phone.

The prosecution said Bake lived alone and spent most of his spare time using or moderating the site.

Bake's defence counsel said he recognised the seriousness of his offences but was not involved in directly abusing children.

The court heard he was diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome when he was 16 and struggled with normal social interactions.

Judge Patrick Thompson said Bake represented a "serious danger" to children.

He said websites like The Annexe allow paedophiles to normalise and rationalise their behaviour which leads directly to images being made and children being abused.

Bake admitted facilitating child sexual abuse, making and distributing abuse images, possessing extreme pornography and a paedophile manual, and admitting being a member of an organised crime group.

Jailing Bake, Judge Thompson also ordered him to stay on the sex offenders register for life.

Why not follow BBC North West on Facebook, X and Instagram? You can also send story ideas to [email protected]