A 48-year-old man who sexually abused six children has been jailed after detectives identified him from a photograph showing his knuckles that he had posted on the dark web.
Darren Welsby was linked to the abuse through images uploaded to a hidden online network and an adult pornography website.
Experts identified visual similarities between some of those images and photographs showing a man raping and sexually assaulting a child.
A digital-forensics specialist determined that the images had been taken using the same device. An anthropologist also concluded that the hands visible in some of the photographs belonged to Welsby after comparing them with images of his knuckles.
The investigation began in 2020, when officers reviewed three sets of child abuse images uploaded to an Interpol database.
After Welsby was identified, National Crime Agency (NCA) officers arrested him at Manchester Airport in August 2020 and seized his phone.
Police also searched his former home in Wythenshawe, seizing 58 exhibits. They included 10 digital devices containing more than 30,000 indecent images of children dating back to 2005.
Darren Welsby, 48, was identified as a sex abuser through images he uploaded to the dark web and an adult pornography website
The material included photographs and videos made by Welsby that documented his offending, including the rape and sexual assault of a child.
Investigators found 4,700 Category A images, the most serious classification, along with 4,500 Category B images, 24,000 Category C images and 18 extreme pornographic images depicting bestiality.
As well as rape and sexual assault, Welsby took indecent photographs of children without their knowledge. He also caused some of them to engage in sexual activity, recording the abuse.
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On July 10, after a two-week trial at Manchester Crown Court, a jury convicted Welsby of 18 offences. They included the rape of a girl under 13 and causing or inciting a girl under 13 to engage in sexual activity. He was sentenced to 23 years in prison.
Bethany Raine, a specialist prosecutor with the Crown Prosecution Service, said: ‘Darren Welsby has been imprisoned for sexually abusing children, including the rape of a girl under 13. He also recorded images of some of these terrible crimes.
‘This was a landmark case because expert digital-forensic evidence established that the images had been taken on the same device as other images known to have been captured using one of Welsby’s phones.
‘A separate expert report confirmed that the hands shown in some of the images were Welsby’s, based on comparisons with photographs of his knuckles.
‘This was a complex and challenging case because of the unique evidence required to bring Welsby to justice. It would not have been possible without the comprehensive investigation carried out by the NCA.’
NCA senior manager Jen Cruickshank said: ‘Darren Welsby is a predatory sexual offender who subjected children, some as young as six, to horrific abuse over an eight-year period.
‘It is impossible to imagine the trauma they endured as a result of these monstrous crimes and the emotional scars they have been left with.
‘Our investigation was painstaking and time-consuming, using innovative forensic techniques to identify Welsby after he attempted to conceal his offending through the dark web.
‘This thorough investigation ensured that the evidence needed to bring him to justice was secured.’
‘This sentence is testament to the skill and unwavering dedication of investigators in the NCA and we will continue to pursue dangerous offenders like Welsby, who prey on those who are vulnerable, to protect children from sexual abuse.’
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