London: A British mechanic who created and moderated sites dedicated to child sexual abuse on the dark web with the help of an Indian-origin staffer has been jailed for 16 years by Chester Crown Court in north-west England.
Nathan Bake, 28, sentenced on Wednesday, is one of three UK-based moderators of a site called ‘The Annex' who were identified by the UK's National Crime Agency (NCA) as part of an investigation targeting those behind the site.
His staffer, 33-year-old London-based psychiatrist Kabir Garg, was sentenced to six years' imprisonment by a UK court last year. He was also a moderator of the site and sat just below Bake in its hierarchy.
“Bake was one of a select number of individuals that played a vital role in ensuring The Annex continued to run and was able to facilitate child sexual abuse on a global scale,” said Daniel Waywell, NCA's Senior Investigating Officer.
“He started as a user himself, but worked his way up the rankings by actively sharing a substantial amount of material and encouraging the discussion of horrific abuse, thus gaining the trust of other moderators. Such was his dedication to this global community of paedophiles that he also committed his time, on top of his day job as a mechanic, to running and setting up other dark web sites that assisted their offending,” he said.
The Annex, which is no longer active, had around 90,000 global members who used it to share and discuss some of the most extreme kinds of abuse material, involving "hurtcore" and the sexual abuse of babies and toddlers.
As the head moderator, Bake was second in command of the entire site, which was run by an American man, who was sentenced to life in prison in the US in January.
Besides Garg, Bake was responsible for managing around 29 staff members and worked with them to enforce the site's rules and ensure it continued to run smoothly.
“Garg was involved in facilitating child sexual abuse on a significant scale. He used the dark web to access a global community of paedophiles sharing and discussing horrific crimes against children," NCA's Adam Priestley said at the time of Garg's sentencing in June 2023.
"He then ensured he was such a trusted and respected member that he was invited to become a member of staff, involved in its daily management. This organisation and willingness to enable other offenders raise his criminality to a higher, more appalling level,” he added.
Like Bake, Garg is also subject to a Serious Harm Prevention Order and is on the Sex Offenders Register for life.
The NCA said it worked with a number of international partners to target this group of moderators. A further 14 men have been charged in the US for their roles in helping to run The Annex, with eight receiving sentences of between six and 28 years.
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