Robert Chown, the Croydon Paedophile, who instigated and documented thousands of minors participating in sexual activities online from his residence in Croydon, has been sentenced to imprisonment following an investigation by the National Crime Agency (NCA).
IT specialist Robert Chown, 49, documented the abuse through photographs and films, then disseminated them to other paedophiles with similar inclinations.
He attended Croydon Crown Court today (3 October), where he received a sentence of 25 years, with seven years to be served on parole, after pleading guilty to 41 crimes in a prior court hearing.
Robert Chown received a lifetime Sexual Harm Prevention Order and will remain on the sex offenders register for life.
In April 2022, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) initiated an inquiry into a private internet chat platform focused on the sexual exploitation of minors.
It was named ‘The Sanctuary’.
Robert Chown was identified as a key contributor to the forum and the individual behind the ‘FredHasFiveToes’ username.
Upon joining the group in 2019, his introductory message read:
“Preferences…girls 8-11”.
And: “as soon as I spot teasing, I’m all over them with compliments”.
He went on to share hundreds of abuse images in the forum that he’d captured over years of sexually exploiting children online.
Robert Chown also posted an indecent photo of a 12-year-old girl that he had taken in person. She was identified and safeguarded by the NCA and child protection services.
From his home in south London, he masqueraded as a teenage boy online to target thousands of children across the world.
Girls and boys as young as six years old were groomed by Robert Chown to live-stream sexual acts at his instruction, which he would capture and share with other paedophiles on ‘The Sanctuary’ and the dark web.
NCA officers arrested Robert Chown at his home address in September 2023 and seized two mobile phones from him.
Across both devices, investigators found over 2,000 indecent images and videos of children in categories A-C.
They also discovered 204 entries in Google Translate of sexual instructions translated from English into Russian and Polish.
These phrases were used by Robert Chown on live streams to incite children around the world to perform sexual acts on themselves.
In the interview, he admitted to using the persona of a teenage boy online to watch live streams involving children, directing and instructing them to carry out those acts.
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