Snapchat pedophile offered children in Worcestershire money for explicit images

An Australian pedophile who used Snapchat to persuade children to engage in sexual activity and send explicit images has been jailed. South Australian man Brett Allford solicited sexually explicit material from ten overseas children, including eight from Worcestershire.

The sexual predator communicated with his victims on Snapchat and Instagram, where he encouraged them to engage in sexual activity and send explicit images of themselves. The 42-year-old convinced victims to send photos and videos, offering them money to spend on clothes or food.

He was given a 23-year prison sentence, of which he must serve at least 17 years, following an international investigation by West Mercia Police officers and the South Australian Joint Child Exploitation Team (SA JACET ). The SA JACET investigation began in 2022 after officers received a report of a teenager who had become involved online with a man suspected of being in South Australia.

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During a warrant at Allford’s home in October 2022, Australian officers seized a phone containing sexually explicit communications with 10 victims – aged between 11 and 16 at the time – from the UK and Canada, along with numerous files which contained images of child abuse. He pleaded guilty last December to 14 counts of online child abuse.

Allford, of Edwardstown in Adelaide, manipulated his victims and took advantage of their personal circumstances to satisfy his deviant sexual desires, an Australian judge heard on June 3. Detective Chief Constable Jordan Dowling, from SA JACET, said: “This is a fantastic one. result and could not have been achieved without the significant efforts of DI Laura Douglas and the North Worcestershire Child Exploitation Team.”

Detective Inspector Laura Douglas, from North Worcestershire LPA’s Child Exploitation Team, added: “We are delighted with this great result following close collaboration between my team and SA JACET. We have had eight victims of online sexual exploitation identified in this case who live in the North Worcestershire LPA.

“This case only serves to highlight how online exploitation can happen anywhere in the world and the importance of protecting children and the vulnerable from predators like Allford.”