A pervert who urged a man to rape his granddaughter and livestream it has been jailed.
Christopher Lumley was already under FBI investigation after exchanging messages with a child sex offender in the US. He then made the sick request while unknowingly chatting online with an undercover police officer.
The 38-year-old also shared hundreds of images and videos showing child sexual abuse, Teesside Crown Court heard.
Prosecutor Caoimhe Bicknell said Lumley committed several offences while on police bail for possessing and distributing child abuse images.
Cleveland Police were alerted to Lumley by the National Crime Agency in March after an FBI investigation, she said.
Christopher Lumley (Image: Cleveland Police)
When police raided his home, Lumley said he had ‘messed up’ and warned officers they would find indecent images on his devices. More than 700 images and videos were recovered.
Lumley began searching a Russian photo-sharing website for child abuse images in May, Miss Bicknell said.
She said the undercover officer told Lumley that he had been abusing his granddaughter for two years when they exchanged messages.
“He asked for an image of the child and asked for a nude picture before suggesting a video call,” she said.
“It was then arranged for a livestreamed camera show where the undercover officer said he would engage in sexual activity with the child.”
When he was arrested for a second time, officers found 1,180 indecent images of children, about 250 of which he had distributed online.
The HGV driver, of The Pastures, Hartlepool, admitted offences including arranging the commission of a child sex offence and making and distributing indecent images of children between January 2023 and August this year.
His lawyer, Tyler Plunkett, said Lumley led a lonely life and used the ‘dark web’ to access pornography and child abuse images.
Judge Deborah Sherwin jailed Lumley for nine years for encouraging the rape of a ten-year-old child.
She said: “It is particularly worrying that serious offences were committed at a time you were on police bail.
“I have read the chatlog with the undercover police officer and it is quite clear you were trying to persuade him to record himself raping his granddaughter and you were wishing to be able to watch it.”
Lumley must sign the sex offenders’ register and comply indefinitely with a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.