Sex addict took pictures of young children using toilets

Wayne Wilson's iPhone contained 52 indecent images of children, including 29 covert pictures he had taken himself of little boys, aged between five and eight, while they were using public toilet facilities.

Investigations revealed the 33-year-old married "sex addict" had used Skype to distribute 131 indecent images to other perverts, using a bogus name.

Police had raided his home after a teenager using a cubicle at the blue mall in the Metrocentre in May reported that he saw a phone protruding across the toilet partition between them and heard him committing a sex act.

Prosecutor Michael Bunch told Newcastle Crown Court: "This led the police to review CCTV footage of the toilets.

"What that showed was that this defendant had gone into that toilet block two hours earlier."

The court heard Wilson had been easily identifiable on the footage because of the boy's description of his "square fronted shoes" .

Detectives used the footage to track Wilson back to his car and were traced him to his home, where they found the sickening collection of images on his telephone, as well as seven more on a second internet device.

Mr Bunch added: "Twenty nine of the images were first generation, they were created by this defendant.

"They were taken covertly in public toilets, predominantly boys aged between five and eight, standing at urinals."

When Wilson was questioned he confessed he had a sex addiction and had undergone professional treatment in the past but since relapsed.

He admitted his covert photographs of boys using public toilets were for his "sexual gratification" but said the pictures he shared over Skype were images he had found from the internet, not ones taken himself.

The court heard the illegal images and activity found on his phone had been deleted but was able to be retrieved by police experts.

Wilson, of Brackenway, Washington, pleaded guilty to voyeursim, making indecent images, distributing indecent images and possession indecent images.

The court heard his offending took place "over a number of years".

Judge Robert Spragg sentenced Wilson to a community order for three years with rehabilitation and group work requirements with a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for ten years and sex offender registration for five years.

Judge Spragg said Wilson had a "prospect of rehabilitation" given his previous positive character, good work record and determination to engage with professional help.

The judge said Wilson had been frank with the authorities about his addiction to pornography and had sought treatment from a psychosexual therapist in the past, before he committed the offences.

Judge Spragg told Wilson: "Unless you receive treatment you remain a high risk of repetition.

"You are not assessed as a high risk of harm to children.

"The public are better served in the long term by you getting to the root of your addiction and put a stop to this kind of behaviour."

Kate Barnes, defending, said Wilson's family, including his wife, are standing by him to offer support and assistance.

Miss Barnes said the pictures found on Wilson's phone dated back to 2014 and had since been deleted.

She added: "He is highly motivated to address the problems that have led to his offending."