A sex offender from England has been jailed after trading sickening videos of child abuse on Telegram. John Gary Humphreys, 45, shared horrifying images of children, including the rape of a toddler, with his online contacts.
York Crown Court called Humphreys’ acts a “filthy trade in misery, debauchery and child cruelty.” The judge compared him to a drug dealer, saying his actions spread vile material “where everyone could see it.”
Police raided Humphreys’ Coupland Road home in September 2023 after a tip-off. He tried to hide a phone, but officers seized it. Forensic experts found thousands of horrific images he had downloaded and shared.
Prosecutors said Humphreys used Telegram to trade illegal images and shared folders named with coded references to child sexual abuse. Investigators found 23 videos and five images of the worst kind.
He also kept nearly 4,000 images on his devices. Of these, 997, including 83 videos, were in the most extreme category. Another 2,500 were in the least severe category. Shockingly, police found another 62,000 uncategorized files.
Humphreys admitted six charges, including distributing indecent images of children. He was jailed for 18 months, given a five-year sexual harm prevention order, and put on the sex offenders’ register for ten years.
The case shows that Telegram has become teeming with twisted minds. Founded by Russian billionaire Pavel Durov, the social media channel has grown popular among criminals due to its refusal to share user data. German investigators found the app is also used by global groups swapping tips on assaulting women.
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These groups have up to 70,000 members, who post videos of their crimes and give instructions on sedating victims. One German man bragged about drugging his wife, while others shared links to buy sedatives.
In France last December, Gisèle Pélicot exposed years of abuse at the hands of her very own ex-husband, Dominique Pélicot.
Investigators discovered he drugged her and allowed other men he recruited through online forums and group chats to rape her.
Authorities arrested Dominique in 2020 for filming women in public and uncovered thousands of photos and videos of the crimes. The court sentenced him to 20 years in prison and convicted 50 other men to different prison terms.
Telegram insisted that it takes action against such groups. “Telegram has a zero-tolerance policy towards misuse of its platform,” it said in a statement. “All users caught doing so will be blocked immediately”.
Durov was arrested in France in August on charges of failing to address the distribution of illicit content. He has denied the allegations.
While under house arrest in Paris, the tech entrepreneur said his platform would do more to crack down on “problematic content”. He was released on bail after paying €5 million but was told he cannot leave France.
Authorities are looking into claims that Telegram has been used for crimes like child pornography and drug trafficking.
