Simon Gary Rose

Simon Gary Rose, from Bexhill in East Sussex, has been sentenced to five years in prison for a series of sexual offences involving the distribution and possession of indecent images of children. Rose, who was already on the sex offenders register following a 2008 conviction in Essex for making such images, continued his offending behaviour despite completing a mandated treatment course.

The investigation began when Sussex Police's paedophile online investigation team received a tip-off that Rose was active online again. Officers discovered he was using internet cafes in Brighton and Hastings to distribute images of child sex abuse, including material depicting very young children, primarily young boys. In September 2011, Rose was arrested, and subsequent inquiries linked him to an attempt to befriend a single mother on Facebook with the apparent intent to groom her young sons for abuse. The woman had contacted police separately after becoming concerned about the man's advances, though no contact offences against children were evidenced.

At Hove Crown Court, Rose pleaded guilty to 20 counts of distributing and possessing indecent images of children, as well as three further counts of breaching a Sexual Offences Prevention Order and failing to comply with sex offender notification requirements. Upon his release, he will be subject to an indefinite Sexual Offence Prevention Order and remain on the sex offenders register for life.

Detective Constable Jane Tunnicliff of Sussex Police commented: 'Rose was still using the internet to distribute indecent images of very young children, mainly young boys, even after being sentenced for a similar offence. Every image is of child sexual abuse and exploitation. It was of even more concern that he was seeking to develop an online relationship with a woman who had young children and we have no doubt that part of his motivation was to groom very young boys for sexual activity. We are very glad that the woman came forward. She was very quickly informed about Rose and was assured that action was being taken to ensure that he posed no further threat.' The case was reported by the BBC and draws on details from HM Courts Service and Sussex Police records.