'Dangerous' sex offender jailed for eight years over 'horrendous' crimes against adults and children

Ryan Mountford, 30, from Rundlemead in Mathon, Malvern, was sentenced at Worcester Crown Court on Tuesday, January 23, being jailed for eight years.

The 30-year-old will also receive a four-year suspended sentence on the licence, an identified Sexual Harm Prevention Order and is to be added to the sex offender for life register on release.

Mountford had previously pleaded guilty to a list of sexual offences, including three counts of making indecent photographs of a child, three counts of distributing indecent photographs of a child, six counts of assaulting a male, one count of voyeurism or recording a private act, one count of arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sex offence and one count of intentionally encouraging or assisting the commission of either way offence.

Mountford was arrested on Tuesday, August 29, 2023, after an intelligence referral was passed on by the National Crime Agency (NCA). The referral was developed by the Online Child Sexual Exploitation Team (OCSET), who identified Mountford as a suspect. He was charged and remanded into custody the same day.

Detective Sergeant Sarah Nicholson, said: "Mountford is a dangerous individual who committed horrendous crimes. I’m pleased that he will now face the consequences for his actions and will rightly be identified as a sex offender for life and spend time in prison.

"This case was a strong team effort with our Digital Forensics Unit, Digital Intelligence and Investigation Unit and OCSET coming together to build a case against Mountford but, more importantly, to identify victims and prevent further harm."

An investigation by OCSET revealed further criminality which led to the identification of victims across the country and led to linked offenders being arrested.