A Lowestoft paedophile who groomed a teenage girl in Canada to take photographs of her sexually abusing a baby has been jailed for nine years.

Bobby Jeffs was branded a danger to children when he was sentenced at Ipswich Crown Court on Monday, April 4, with Judge Emma Peters adding he had caused "utter devastation" to the teenager and her family.

She said it was an “utter tragedy” that the teenager, now 16, was being prosecuted by the Canadian authorities for the sexual acts she was encouraged to commit by Jeffs rather than being treated as a victim.

Jeffs, of Water Lane, Lowestoft, also downloaded more than 7,000 indecent images and movies of children.

He admitted 16 offences, including six offences of making indecent images and videos of children, two offences of possessing prohibited images of children and two offences of possessing extreme pornography and six offences of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, and was jailed for nine years with an extended licence period of five years.

He was also made the subject of a sexual harm prevention order and ordered to sign the sex offenders’ register for life.

Jeffs will have to serve at least six years of his sentence before he could be considered for release.

Jamie Sawyer, prosecutor, said police searched Jeffs’ former home in Trafalgar Street, Lowestoft, and seized devices belonging to him in May 2020.

The devices contained 248 indecent images of children and 563 movies in the most serious level A category, 352 still images and 283 movies in category B and 5,057 still images and 700 movies in the least serious level C category.

There were also 227 still prohibited images of children and six movies and four still extreme pornographic images and 148 movies on the equipment.

Mr Sawyer said among the downloaded indecent images and movies, police discovered material that had been made by Jeffs of a 13-year-old Canadian girl he’d incited to perform sex acts on herself and on a baby.

He had also persuaded her to take indecent images of a teenage girl and a toddler.

Mr Sawyer said police in the UK had found images of 25 other females aged 10 to 16 carrying out sexual acts on themselves and were trying to identify them.

Isobel Ascherson for Jeffs said her client had sought help for sex addiction and was being supported by church members.