Christine Callaghan

Christine Callaghan, a 33-year-old woman from Bexhill-on-Sea in East Sussex, has admitted to committing serious sexual offences against a young girl through online livestreamed videos. Between 2016 and 2018, Callaghan carried out penetrative sexual activity in front of the victim and directly abused her on at least 10 different dates, all while streaming the acts live on Skype for payment.

The abuse came to light as part of a broader National Crime Agency (NCA) investigation into online child sexual exploitation. Callaghan was paid £2,285 by Dean Petley, a 30-year-old automotive engineer from Leamington Spa, who instructed her on how to perpetrate the abuse. Evidence recovered from an encrypted hard drive at Petley's home included screenshots of their conversations over a two-year period, full facial images of Callaghan abusing the girl with Petley visible in a small window watching, and a nearly 10-minute video of one such incident. The drive also contained five indecent images of children.

Callaghan's offending was uncovered during the NCA's probe into Jodie Little, another individual jailed for 12 years and four months in August for similar online child sexual abuse crimes committed from northern Cyprus. Little operated under pseudonyms such as 'Devil Bitch 666' and 'DomTabooSlut' on an adult services website. The investigation identified Petley as one of her customers, leading to his arrest in October of the previous year and subsequent jailing for eight years after admitting 11 charges.

On Friday, Callaghan appeared at Isleworth Crown Court where she admitted four charges related to the abuse. Her sentencing is scheduled for a date to be confirmed. The case underscores a alarming rise in cyber-enabled child sexual offences in the UK, with NCA operations manager Jason Booth noting that such crimes are increasing in scale and severity. The NCA and UK police arrest around 500 child sex offenders monthly and safeguard approximately 700 children in the same period.