A South Shields Paedophile, Joshua MacFarlane, who coerced two nine-year-old boys he encountered online into sexually assaulting one another has been sentenced to 10 years and four months in prison.
Joshua MacFarlane, 20, met with a 13-year-old boy on two occasions and recorded the minor engaging in a sexual act with him, as shown in Newcastle Crown Court.
The moms of his victims stated that his acts had been catastrophic for the children.
Joshua MacFarlane, a resident of South Shields, confessed to 29 offences, including violating an intermediate sexual risk order (ISRO) by concealing a vulnerable 16-year-old boy in his residence and downloading indecent photos of minors.
At the age of 18, Joshua MacFarlane encountered a nine-year-old boy via PlayStation and convinced the child to initiate communication with him on SnapChat, stated prosecutor Nicoleta Alistari.
From June to November 2023, Joshua MacFarlane engaged in online sexual abuse of the youngster and coerced the boy into transmitting videos of himself executing explicit sexual acts with another nine-year-old, as presented in court.
Meanwhile, Joshua MacFarlane was also messaging a 13-year-old boy he had met on Facebook, Ms Alistari said.
Joshua MacFarlane met up with the boy and filmed the youth performing a sex act upon him, then offered the child money to meet up and do it again, the court heard.
Joshua MacFarlane also had a stash of indecent images of children on his phone and tablet, the court heard.
Having been arrested and released under investigation, Joshua MacFarlane was made subject of an ISRO banning him from having contact with people under 18.
But he breached that within months by having three 16 year old boys round to his home, one of whom he made hide in a cupboard when police called round looking for him, Ms Alistari said.
Joshua MacFarlane also had a phone, computer console and memory stick he had not informed police about in violation of his order, with a folder containing more indecent images of children discovered by officers.
In a statement read to the court, the mother of Joshua MacFarlane’s 13-year-old victim said her son was extremely vulnerable and his behaviour massively deteriorated because of the paedophile’s actions.
The mother of one of the nine-year-old boys said she was shocked to find he had been targeted online and her son had become aggressive and more infantile since the abuse.
Judge Gavin Doig said MacFarlane’s offending was of the “utmost seriousness” and there was “no doubt whatsoever those children had been grievously affected”.
He said Joshua MacFarlane knew he was “in trouble” for messaging children but still breached the ISRO.
Joshua MacFarlane posed a “high risk of serious harm” to children and “very high risk of sexual contact offending”, the judge said.
Having been deemed a “dangerous offender”, MacFarlane will have to serve a further four years on an extended licence upon his eventual release from prison.
Joshua MacFarlane must sign the sex offenders register and comply with a Sexual Harm Prevention Order restricting his contact with children for life.
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