Teen was part of 'network' sharing child abuse videos

A TEENAGER was part of a “network” of paedophiles sharing child abuse images using an online messaging app, a court has heard.

- JASON EVANS

When police examined Zack Spencer’s phone they found a collection of indecent images and found he had been swapping images with other people.

Swansea Crown Court heard that when being taken to the police station the then 19-year-old told officers he was “highly sexed”. His barrister said that for meaningful rehabilitation to take place his client would have to accept the “awful attractions” he had been involved with as a teenager may still be “simmering under the surface” and would need to be addressed.

Craig Jones, prosecuting, told the court that in March 2022, police executed a warrant at the defendant's home address and seized his mobile phone.

A triage examination of the device showed the presence of indecent material contained in the Kik messaging app, and Spencer was arrested.

The court heard that on the way to the police station, the defendant told officers “I'm not going to lie - I'm highly sexed” and said he had been part of groups on the messaging app where people asked for images. He also said he may have “sent stuff on” to others without looking at it.