James Madgin, aged 41, of Sherburn Village near Durham, County Durham, was sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment at Teesside Crown Court in 2026 after pleading guilty to six offences relating to child sexual exploitation, including attempting to arrange the rape of children.
The court heard that Madgin engaged in extensive online communications via the Chatwee messaging platform starting in November 2025. Madgin communicated with three separate decoy profiles, believing he was interacting with a 12-year-old child named Poppy, a teacher grooming a pupil, and a mother abusing her young children. During these exchanges, Madgin actively attempted to arrange meetings to facilitate and participate in the serious sexual abuse of children and infants.
Prosecutor Mairi Clancy outlined that Madgin openly acknowledged his predatory interests during the conversations and actively suggested booking holiday accommodation to abuse children. Following these communications, police officers executed a raid on Madgin’s home address on 23 February 2026.
During the search, officers seized two laptops and a mobile telephone. Digital forensic examinations revealed that Madgin had collected nearly 1,000 indecent images of children over a five-year period, with 534 classified in Category A, the most severe category under UK law.
The court was informed that Madgin had a previous conviction from 2009, when he received an eight-month custodial sentence for 19 offences involving the production and distribution of indecent images of children and causing a child to engage in sexual activity.
Appearing before Teesside Crown Court, Madgin entered formal guilty pleas to six charges on the indictment.
The presiding judge sentenced Madgin to a total custodial term of seven years’ imprisonment for his crimes.
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