Published by Robert L Senior Reporter on Wednesday 5th March 2025, at 16:50hrs
Sheffield Crown Court has delivered a six-year prison sentence to Lee Maidens, a 46-year-old Doncaster man, for a series of disturbing online child sexual offences.
The verdict follows a thorough investigation by the Internet Sexual Offences Team (ISOT), which exposed Maidens’s abhorrent actions.
The investigation commenced after ISOT received intelligence indicating Maidens’s involvement in online child sexual abuse.
A subsequent search warrant executed at his Brabbs Avenue residence on October 3, 2024, yielded incriminating evidence.
The court heard that between September 3 and October 3, 2024, Maidens engaged in online communications with a profile he believed belonged to an adult, where he explicitly discussed plans to sexually abuse a 10-year-old child.
Furthermore, he distributed a collection of deeply disturbing videos, including Category A and B indecent images of children, some depicting abuse of infants.
Maidens faced multiple charges, including:
* Distributing indecent images and videos of children.
* Attempting to cause a child under 13 to view sexual images.
* Arranging or facilitating sexual offenses against a child.
He entered guilty pleas to the charges, culminating in his sentencing on March 5, 2025. In addition to the six-year prison term, Maidens received an extended license period of four years.
Investigating Officer Sam Musgrove emphasized the ISOT’s commitment to pursuing online child predators. “ISOT officers quickly responded to intelligence that Maidens had committed online child sexual offences, and we took strong action,” Sam Musgrove stated.
He further added that, “Individuals like Maidens may believe that they can get away with online criminality, but this sentence goes to show that we will act on intelligence to bring offenders to justice and protect children online.”
This case underscores the persistent efforts of law enforcement to combat the online exploitation of children and hold offenders accountable.
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