'Reprehensible' predator who filmed himself sexually assaulting sleeping girl was caught years later
A paedophile who filmed himself sexually abusing a sleeping child over a decade ago has been jailed after his internet activity aroused suspicion and helped police uncover his "reprehensible" crimes.
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Simon Neale, who is 54, only recently admitted sexually assaulting the girl as she slept, and making a recording of the act. A court heard that the child had no idea it had happened until police investigated Neale's electronic devices and found the indecent images, prompting a prosecution for sexual assault.
Neale, formerly of Telford but recently of Catshill in Worcestershire, got a knock on his door from police in July of 2022 when he was living in Telford.
They had traced potentially illegal activity back to him using a Dropbox account and his internet protocol (IP) address, prosecutor Mr Robert Edwards told Shrewsbury Crown Court this week.
Mr Edwards said that when officers knocked on Neale's door and asked to come inside, he asked them "is it Dropbox?"
His home was searched and officers seized his devices. Police found hundreds of indecent images of children, both still and moving, on a Sony laptop and an 8gb SD card, including 119 images of category A, the most serious kind in the eyes of the law depicting the worst abuse.
In interviews with police Neale said he was "addicted to viewing pornography" and had "unwittingly" downloaded images of children, the court heard.
