A PAEDOPHILE caught with thousands of indecent images of children has been jailed for a decade.

Michael Anthony Henderson sexually abused a child and was caught with a stash of indecent images.

The 32-year-old came to the attention of police when he was flagged discussing child abuse in online forums.

Officers eventually seized a number of devices from him, including laptops, phones and a kindle which stored indecent content.

They included a number of images showing Henderson abusing a child.

Henderson of Ventnor was charged with four counts of sexual assault on a child, five of taking indecent images of a child, three of distribution of indecent images, four of possession of indecent images, one of possession of prohibited images of children and one of possession of extreme pornography.

He pleaded guilty to the three counts of distribution of indecent images, four of possession of indecent images, one of possession of prohibited images of children and one of possession of extreme pornography.

He was convicted of the four counts of sexual assault on a child and five of taking indecent images of a child after a trial.

Appearing at Isle of Wight Crown Court for sentencing last Friday he was jailed for ten years.

Investigating officer DS Claire Lyons said: “The images found on Henderson’s devices are unquestionably amongst the worst I have seen while working within the Internet Child Abuse Team, and this sentence takes a dangerous offender off the streets.

“The sexual abuse of children causes unfathomable damage, and I hope that this sentence provides some justice for the victim and their family, who will continue to receive support from partner services.

“We take all reports of sexual assault extremely seriously, and will do everything in our power to bring those responsible to justice.

"It is so important to us that people have the confidence to report these incidents to us, whether they have happened to you or somebody you know. It is also important to us that survivors and their families are provided with the support they need, and we work in partnership with other organisations to ensure this happens."