‘Ruthless’ paedophile given 17-year jail term
A TWISTED West Drayton paedophile who gained the trust of families before he sexually assaulted their children has been jailed for 17 years and 9 months.
Benjamine Webb, 30, of Drayton Gardens, West Drayton, was found to have abused children, aged between one and nine years old. Webb knew all the children and their families and had spent years gaining the trust of the victims’ families.
He took photographs and films of the children naked and him sexually assaulting them before distributing the materials online.
The police were able to identify Webb by his distinctive tattoos which matched with those in one of the videos of a child being abused.
The police investigation started 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 the social media platform, Kik.
On March 14, 2023, Webb was identified and arrested for possession of indecent images of children and possession of cannabis. Police seized seven electronic devices and examined them, finding hundreds of images and videos of child sex abuse, many of which related to three particular young children.
Police were able to identify some of the children in the video and put them into safeguarding.
Whilst Webb was in prison, four children from separate families were identified and safeguarded as well, however one baby has not been able to be identified.
Detective Constable Samantha Thompson, who co-ordinated the evidence, 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.”
On March 15, 2023, Webb was charged with 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. He pleaded guilty to these offences on 12 July 2023. He was sentenced on Thursday 4 April 2024 at Isleworth Crown Court to 17 years and 9 months.