Boy groped and filmed by predatory Leeds pervert endured 'shame and embarrassment'
A boy who was groped and filmed by a predatory paedophile with learning difficulties told a court of the “shame and embarrassment” he has endured.
Joshua Middleton was jailed at Leeds Crown Court today for a raft of sexual offences.
The 28-year-old pervert was caught out when an indecent image of child was uploaded to the internet from Snapchat and traced back his home address.
He was arrested and his phone seized. On that device, police found hundreds of indecent images of children, including Category A images and videos showing the most serious abuse.
However, there were also pictures and videos Middleton had taken himself.
His 12-year-old victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was traced and later told police that Middleton had pulled the youngster’s pants down while filming him and touched his naked genitals.
There was also a video found of Middleton making the boy pose with his buttocks splayed.
In a victim impact statement from the boy, read out by prosecutor Soheil Khan, he said: “I felt very scared and confused.
“I thought I was going to get in trouble but I know now it was not my fault. No-one should ever have to feel like I have. I felt embarrassed and ashamed.
“It has affected me a lot. It has made my life harder.”
The mother of the boy read out her own impact statement to the court. Fighting back tears, she said the abuse of her son has had a “devastating impact” on her family.
She said her son is “filled with trauma and shame” and added: “It’s heartbreaking to see our child go through this. We feel overwhelming guilt even though we are not to blame.
“It has caused deep-lasting harm to our child and us as a family.”
Middleton, of Poplar Court, Bramley, admitted causing a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity, sexual assault of a child under 13, possession of 250 Category A images and videos, 182 in Category B and 217 in Category C. He also admitted possessing extreme pornographgic images and prohibited images.
Middleton has no previous convictions. Mitigating, Sean Smith said that Middleton had severe learning difficulties and was incapable of living on his own.
The court was told that Middleton remains illiterate, has an IQ of just 65 and lives an “isolated and solitary life”.
Judge Robin Mairs said the boy’s family had been “forced to confront something they never thought they would have to”.
He jailed him for 30 months, put him on the sex offender register for life and gave him a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) to allow the authorities to monitor his behaviour.