National Crime Agency
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IT engineer with hidden camera had more than 300,000 indecent images
An IT engineer who downloaded thousands of indecent images of children from the dark web has been jailed for up to ten years after he also admitted taking hundreds of pictures using a hidden camera.
National Crime Agency investigators arrested Daniel Praid, 40, outside his home in Biggleswade on 27 March 2015. On a computer inside the property they found more than 300,000 indecent images and around 15,000 indecent films.
Many of the files had been downloaded, but in a set of files marked ‘personal’ and ‘peep’ they found a series of images taken by Praid himself using a hidden camera.
The pictures were taken in a variety of places but included images of women and girls getting changed and in the bathroom. One image showed how Praid had used a plastic cleaning fluid bottle to conceal his camera.
Other images showed Praid sexually assaulting an underage girl who he’d befriended some years before. Chat logs recovered from his hard drive revealed he had been sharing some of these images online with other individuals.
Praid admitted 28 different charges including making and distributing indecent images of children, sexual assault, indecency and voyeurism.
At Birmingham Crown Court on Tuesday 15 March he was sentenced to ten years in prison, of which he will have to serve more than half before being considered for parole on license.
NCA branch commander Paul Risby said:
“We have identified and spoken to number of the victims of Praid’s voyeurism – they are all horrified at the violation of their privacy.
“Praid amassed hundreds of thousands of indecent images from the dark web, some showing children being abused in the worst ways imaginable.
“His offending went one step further and involved him befriending and abusing a teenage girl, then sharing the pictures of that abuse.
“We are committed to tracking down offenders who use the internet to access and share this type of material wherever they are and bringing them to account.”
Help and support
If you are an adult and worried about a child, or if you think you have been a victim of abuse, you can get help and support by contacting the NSPCC on 0808 800 5000.
Alternatively, if you are a young person and either you or a friend has been sexually abused, you can contact Childline on 0800 1111, or report your concerns via the NCA CEOP Safety Centre where trained and experienced child protection workers will read and assess your information and get in touch.
You can also access more information, including how to stay safe online, on the NCA CEOP Command’s Facebook page, Twitter account and YouTube channel. Targeted help and support for parents and teachers can be found on the Thinkuknow website.
