A PAEDOPHILE has been jailed for more than six years after officers discovered a phone showing images of him sexually abusing a young girl.

Kieron Michael Mason, of Liden, pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to one count of assault on a girl under 13 years old by penetration, one count of making indecent images between January 2019 and December 2019, two counts of distributing indecent images between the same dates and one count of possession of indecent images.

Mason, 33, was jailed for six years and six months for all offences. He was given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and added to the sex offenders register for life.

Officers arrested Mason in April at his home after Wiltshire Police’s Child Internet Exploitation Team received intelligence that he was making indecent images of children and uploading them online.

Mason was taken to Gablecross Police Station while officers carried out a search at his house and seized two mobile phones.

Evidence was found on these devices showing him sexually abusing a girl and he was further arrested in August on suspicion of child sexual offences.

Wiltshire Police Child Internet Exploitation Team's Det Con Jason Walsh said: “It is the role of the Child Internet Exploitation Team to ensure young, vulnerable children are protected and safeguarded from individuals like Mason.

“This is a particularly disturbing case and the images from the phones seized show extent of the abuse the girl was subjected to at such a young age.

“We are working with children’s services to ensure that the victims are given the much-needed support and care following such a traumatic ordeal.

“We will continue to act on intelligence we receive on these abhorrent crimes and will ensure the internet is not a safe place for such content to be shared.”

For more information and support for anyone who is concerned about someone accessing indecent images of children, or who has wider concerns about child abuse, click here.