A prolific paedophile was caught in the act when police raided his home at dawn and found him downloading sick images of kids.
Aaron Honey, 21, was jailed for five years after pleading guilty to a string of sick offences, including blackmailing children into sending him indecent images of themselves.
The ‘dark and devious’ pervert targeted girls and boys, some as young as seven, from his bedroom in Coulsdon, Surrey.
He was caged on Thursday after admitting 24 offences, including seven counts of distributing indecent photographs of a child, and a further seven counts of causing a child to engage in sexual activity.
Guildford Crown Court said Honey was a dangerous offender and imposed an extended sentence with a five-year prison term with an extended licence period of four years.
He was also made the subject of a Sexual Offences Prevention Order which has a number of conditions prohibiting Honey from having contact with children under 16 and limiting any usage of the internet.
Detectives from Surrey Police’s Paedophile Online Investigation Team began their inquiries after the mother of an 11-year-old boy alerted police that her son had been communicating with a person called ‘Aaron’, who repeatedly asked for naked photographs of the child.
During a 6:30am raid on his home in July last year, cops found sick Honey was downloading indecent images of children onto his phone.
An investigation showed he had used instant chat mobile phone apps ‘Kik Messenger’ and ‘WhatsApp’ to groom young girls and boys into sending indecent photos of themselves.
He also preyed on other youngsters via online chat facilities on games including Call of Duty and FIFA.
PC Paula Hayward said: “Honey is a dark and devious individual who was adept at using different ways to engage with vulnerable young people online.
“Our investigation showed that he was contacting children all over the world whom he would groom and manipulate into sending him indecent pictures which he would often share with other paedophiles.
“He has proven to be a prolific and predatory offender – even when officers knocked at his door in the early morning to arrest him they disturbed him downloading indecent images of children.
“This case should also serve as a warning to all parents and young people to be on their guard against individuals like Honey who use a variety of ways such as online gaming to make contact with children.”
