Sussex man who helped run global child abuse site jailed

A man who helped run a global child abuse website on the dark web has been jailed.

Martin Yates, from Eastbourne, was among three UK-based moderators for the site known as The Annex.

The site, which is no longer active, had about 90,000 members worldwide who used it to share sexual abuse material of babies and toddlers.

At Lewes Crown Court, the 48-year-old was sentenced to five years and four months.

Yates was the assistant moderator of the website between January and September 2020.

He was responsible for enforcing the rules by promoting or dropping other users, advising on security measures and training others, the National Crime Agency (NCA) said.

He pleaded guilty to one count of arranging or facilitating the sexual abuse of children, four of making and distributing indecent images of children and one of possession of prohibited images of children.

Yates was also placed on the sex offenders register for life, and given a lifetime sexual harm prevention order.

The NCA worked with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to target the site's moderators, three of whom were based in the UK.

Last week, Nathan Bake, 28, from Cheshire, was jailed for 16 years, while Kabir Garg, 34, from London, was sentenced to six years in prison last year.

The Annex was run by William Spearman, 58, from Alabama, who was sentenced to life in prison in the US in January.

A further 14 men have been charged in the US for their roles in helping to run the site, with eight receiving jail sentences of between six and 28 years.

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