The Brent Paedophile, Simon Hynes, has been sentenced to 3 years and 6 months in prison after a Metropolitan Police investigation revealed his use of social media to disseminate indecent photographs and engage with minors.
An inquiry was initiated upon police awareness of a man’s possession of indecent photos of minors. Subsequent to the initial report, officers accessed his social media, revealing he had been engaging in communication with minors.
Simon Hynes, aged 41 (born 07.12.83), of Douglas Road, Brent, received a sentence of 3 years and 6 months on Wednesday, 30 July at Harrow Crown Court.
Simon Hynes entered a guilty plea to 20 charges on Thursday, 24 April, at Southwark Crown Court. The offences are categorised as follows:
- Three counts of taking indecent images of children
- Three counts distributing indecent images of children
- One count of possession of extreme images
- Thirteen counts of attempting to engage in sexual communications with a child
Detective Chief Inspector Brian Kelleher, who led the Met investigation, said:
“My thoughts are with those children and families who have been harmed by Hynes’ offending online over a number of years. We will continue working to identify and support survivors of this kind of abuse.”
Detective Sargent Callum Mantell from the Met Police who worked on the investigation added:
“We believe there may be further children impacted and urge anyone who thinks they may have been a victim of Simon Hynes to come forward and speak to officers.”
In December 2022, officers received initial reports that Simon Hynes was in possession of indecent images of children. On his arrest, officers seized a number of devices, alongside a number of knives, a machete and an axe. Trained analysts began a trawl of his phones, where they discovered hundreds of indecent images of children.
Officers were able to gain access to Hynes’ social media accounts, where they discovered an account belonging to him which was being used to engage with children and to distribute indecent images of children.
Officers found chat logs where Hynes was communicating with children as young as eight years, sharing sexual images while encouraging them to sexually abuse their siblings.
Officers worked quickly to compile evidence against Simon Hynes. They are now working to identify the victims that Simon Hynes engaged with to offer support.
If you think you may have been impacted, we would urge you to call police on 101, or 999 in an emergency – we have specially trained officers who will listen and investigate where needed.
Alternatively call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111, or report online. You can also report abuse and get support from the NSPCC – 0808 800 5000, or visit www.nspcc.org.uk.
People who sexually abuse children rely on secrecy to make sure their abuse is not discovered and reported. There can be physical or behavioural signs that a child is being abused – children often show us rather than tell us something wrong:
- Child suddenly having nightmares or other sleeping problems.
- Becoming withdrawn or very clingy.
- The child acting in a sexual way with toys or objects.
- Personality changes such as outbursts of anger or changes in eating habits.
- Having unexplained gifts such as money, a mobile phone and/or expensive clothes.
If you or anyone you know have been affected by the people highlighted in this website, then please report those individuals to the Police on 101 (999 if an emergency) or visit their online resources for further details of the options for reporting a crime. You can also make a report at Crimestoppers should you wish to be completely anonymous. There is help available on our support links page.