A paedophile has been jailed after detectives recognised his distinctive tattoos which could be identified on videos he made showing him sexually abusing children.
Benjamine Webb, 30, from West Drayton, filmed himself during a campaign of sexual assault on children as young as one.
He was jailed for 17 years and nine months by by a judge at Isleworth Crown Court on Thursday.
He had previously admitted nine offences relating to making and distributing indecent images, engaging in penetrative sexual activity with a boy under 13 and sexual assault of a girl under 13.
Police said he had been charged “after reviewing a huge volume of indecent online content, and also matching photos of his distinctive tattoos taken in custody, with those in a video of a child being abused.”
A number of children were safeguarded as a result of the investigation.
Detective Constable Samantha Thompson co-ordinated the work of specialist colleagues across the Met to use the right expertise which built the evidence against Webb.
DC Thompson said: “This was a truly horrific set of crimes. This man preyed on young children and exploited them.
“What he did was wicked, building up relationships with their parents and ruthlessly manipulating them to think that he was a person who could be trusted. The custodial sentence imposed is fully justified and richly deserved.
“Our role has been to give a voice to these innocent children. Having to break the news of what happened to their parents, was one of the most difficult jobs that any police officer will face in their work. I am grateful for them for their bravery and working with us to gather evidence against Webb, so we can now be sure that he can’t do this to any other children.
“It was a complicated investigation, involving different teams across the Met and it was thanks to our use of digital forensics and technology we were able to convict him.
"The Met is committed to protecting the most vulnerable in society and I would like to thank all the officers who worked tirelessly to put this evil predator behind bars.
“While our investigation was very thorough, we are aware there may be more victims who have yet to be identified. If there are any parents with concerns, we urge you to get in touch so we can give you and your children the support you need.”
The investigation was triggered when officers from the Met’s Sexual Offences, Exploitation and Child Abuse Intelligence Unit received a referral in January 2023, telling them an indecent photograph of a child had been uploaded to social media platform, Kik.
Webb was arrested in March 2023.
Seven of his electronic devices were seized. Officers examined phones, laptops and a hard-drive and found hundreds of images and videos of child sex abuse, many of which related toyoung children.
One sick video showed a baby boy being abused and Webb.
Webb offended against both boys and girls, aged between one and nine years old, in the nearby area. All these children and their families were known to him. He photographed and filmed them naked, sexually assaulted them in videos and distributed the material to other offenders online.
One of these offenders was arrested two weeks after Webb, and has been jailed.
Webb will be subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and Restraining Order when released. That means he will be monitored by police.
If anyone wants to contact police in connection with the investigation into Webb, call on 101 quoting Operation Snakeroot and ask for DS Rob Blant.
