Child porn was bought using Amazon tokens

A TEACHING assistant purchased a sick catalogue of child pornography using £365 of Amazon vouchers.

Kevin Sheppard, 26, downloaded more than 100 images of children and requested a video of a 15-yearold girl from the online seller which took the vouchers in payment.

He was arrested at his home by officers of the National Crime Agency who found the images on his iPhone and laptop.

Under questioning Sheppard admitted being sexually attracted to underage girls. At Northampton Magistrates’ Court this week he admitted three counts of making indecent images and a count of encouraging their distribution.

Robbie Slater, operations chief at the NCA, said offenders who paid for indecent images fuelled more sexual abuse of children.

The agency has referred more than 5,707 online child sex abuse cases to police forces since the start of lockdown in March. It has warned that the coronavirus restrictions may have caused a dramatic increase in online sex offending because both children and paedophiles are spending more time on the internet.

The seller who transferred the images to Sheppard is also the subject of an NCA investigation.

Steve Gordon, principal of Huxlow Science College, said his staff were appalled to learn of their former colleague’s crimes.

He added: ‘Immediately after his arrest, Sheppard was no longer permitted to enter the school grounds and he resigned from his post.

‘We are reassured that the NCA investigation confirmed that no students or school equipment were involved in any of the offences.’

Sheppard is scheduled to be sentenced at Northampton Crown Court on August 25. His iPhone had 46 of the most severe category A images.