Man who watched girl, four, being abused on live-stream jailed for three years

A man who watched a live-stream of a four-year-old girl being sexually abused has been jailed for three years.

Matthew Abbott, 34, of Coombe Dale, Bristol, logged into a chatroom dedicated to sharing images of child abuse.

The supermarket worker watched as a man streamed video of himself abusing the girl, the National Crime Agency (NCA) said.

He continued watching after the man showed his audience that the abuse was live by giving a thumbs-up to the camera.

Abbott is believed to have seen pre-recorded videos showing the abuse of children as young as nine-months-old while logged into the chatroom.

A judge at Bristol Crown Court jailed Abbott for three years after he pleaded guilty to four offences.

These were one count of possessing an indecent photograph of a child and three counts of intentionally encouraging or assisting the commission of an offence.

Speaking after the case, Graham Ellis, operations manager for the NCA, described Abbott as “callous”.

“We and our international colleagues place the utmost importance on looking after victims,” Mr Ellis said.

“I’m pleased that in this case the girl has been identified and protected in Denmark.

“Abbott callously used children’s abuse for his own sexual gratification.

“While he took steps to hide his crimes, they didn’t work. NCA officers, along with our partners in the police, are well-practised in detecting offenders and bringing them to justice.”

Abbott was arrested at the supermarket where he worked in Bristol in September 2016.

NCA officers searched his house and seized devices including a laptop and desktop computer.

The judge ordered Abbott to be listed on the Sex Offenders’ Register and made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order.

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