A paedophile who had a “commercial interest in the sexual abuse of young teenage boys” and sold child abuse images to other sex offenders has been jailed for raping two 12-year-olds.
Barthimaus Ehiemere, 25, of Hackney was sentenced at Snaresbrook Crown Court to 18 years’ imprisonment for 47 offences against seven known victims.
Police discovered the 25-year-old groomed boys aged 12 to 16 online, and committed serious sexual offences against them, including seven counts of rape against two boys between 2019 and 2023.
Detectives said Ehiemere would send the boys “gifts, money and praise to coerce them into providing sexual imagery”, which he would then use to advertise and encourage other boys to do the same.
Not only that, he would “actively brag about his endeavours” and sell the illegal content to other predators, the Met Police said.
He used Snapchat and the now-discontinued app, Spotafriend.
Investigators would find more than 1,600 indecent images of children on four phones and devices seized from him.
In 2020, he was arrested after police received information that his phone was distributing indecent images of children.
In light of this, he was then sentenced in February 2021 at Wood Green Crown Court to eight months in a young offenders’ institution, suspended for 24 months and made subject to a sexual harm prevention order.
By October 2024, police had identified initial victims and officers discovered footage of him raping a 12-year-old boy after another of his devices was seized.
Prosecutor James Brown KC said the paedophile had a “deep-seated and commercial interest in the sexual abuse of young teenage boys”.
He said: “On Snapchat, there were numerous examples of him advertising broadly and widely for images of a sexual nature from younger teenage boys.
“He frequently offered money for those images.
“He was very much in the business of encouraging young teenage boys to send him images of themselves performing sexual acts.”
Sentencing, judge Timothy Greene told Ehiemere: “You are a serious danger to young boys with whom you come into conduct.”
He also sentenced the predator to a further four-year licence period and an indefinite sexual harm prevention order.
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In an impact statement read out by Mr Brown, one victim said they were “waking up with nightmares” about their tormentor.
The victim added: “It took me a long time to realise I was a child and it wasn’t my fault.”
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Detective Constable Lindsey Luscombe of the Met’s Online Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation team, appealed for other victims to come forward.
“Ehiemere is one of the most prolific and depraved sexual predators we have seen in recent years. He groomed his victims online, demonstrating a dangerous pattern of offending,” she said.
“This case demonstrates the insidious nature of online child sex abuse, and its grave implications in the real world.”
Mitigating for Ehiemere, Barry Kogan said: “He wishes to express his deep shame and remorse on account of all of his offending.
“He would like to apologise for the distress he has caused.”
He added his client was “badly influenced” by an adult who “encouraged him to make money by selling illegal images of children”.
Ehiemere pled guilty to 32 counts before trial, including rape of a child under 13, inciting children to create indecent images, and multiple breaches of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order.
He was also found guilty by a jury on a further 15 charges relating to sexual assaults and paying for the sexual services of a child.
