A self-proclaimed “dangerous” man who sexually assaulted a young boy and exchanged explicit chats with children across the world has been jailed.

Reece Green, aged 22, sexually assaulted the boy on at least three occasions before taking photographs of him in a state of undress.

He was arrested after Nottinghamshire Police received intelligence that an indecent video of a child had been uploaded to the internet from an address in Worksop.

Detectives seized four mobile phones belonging to Green and discovered thousands of indecent images of children stored across the devices.

As well as taking some indecent photos himself, the investigation found Green had mostly downloaded and viewed indecent images of children, before sending tens of thousands of sexualised messages to ten young teenagers – aged 13 to 16 – who he’d met on social media.

These victims lived in countries including America, Canada, Argentina, Northern Ireland and Wales and in some cases Green successfully incited them to engage in sexual activity.

Nottinghamshire Police’s Public Protection unit coordinated with multiple law enforcement agencies to safeguard victims and bring Green to justice.

At his sentencing hearing at Nottingham Crown Court on Tuesday (15 July), Green was handed an extended 10-year sentence that comprises six years and eight months in prison, followed by a four-year extended licence period.

The court heard Green, of Newcastle Avenue, Worksop, was aged 20 when he was first arrested in November 2022. Detectives seized four mobile phones and discovered indecent images of children falling within categories A, B and C – with A depicting the most severe types of sexual abuse – along with images classed as extreme pornography.

Further examination of the devices found Green had been engaging in sexual communication with teenage boys via platforms such as Instagram, WhatsApp, Snapchat and Discord – and that he’d paid some of the boys to send him explicit images.

In one conversation, Green described himself as “dangerous” while in another he admitted sexually abusing a young boy.

Green was subsequently charged with multiple offences and was on crown court bail, awaiting his next hearing, when police received further intelligence that suggested he was continuing to commit offences.

Offices acted upon that intelligence and arrested him again, on 28 August last year. This time detectives seized an iPhone and discovered further indecent images of children and sexualised chats with a 13-year-old boy in America, resulting in Green being remanded into custody and facing further charges.

In total, Green went on to plead guilty to:

• Sexual assault of a child under 13 – one count
• Taking indecent photographs of a child – two counts
• Causing / inciting a child to engage in sexual activity – five counts
• Causing / inciting a child to engage in penetrative sexual activity – two counts
• Sexual communication with a child – five counts
• Attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child – one count
• Attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity – four counts
• Making indecent images of children (category A) – two counts
• Making indecent images of children (category B) – two counts
• Making indecent images of children (category C) – two counts
• Distributing indecent images and video of children (category A) – two counts
• Distributing indecent images and video of children (category B) – two counts
• Distributing indecent images and video of children (category C) – two counts
• Possession of prohibited images of children – one count
• Possession of extreme pornographic images – one count

The sentencing judge told Green he presented a high risk of serious harm to children, as he had committed “calculated and deliberate acts” and that his offending had been “persistent and prolonged”.

In addition to the prison sentence and extended licence period, Green was made subject of a Sexual Harm Prevention Order which places a number of restrictions on him.

Following the sentencing, Detective Constable Sarah Clarke, who led the investigation, said:

“By his own admission, Green is a dangerous individual who sexually assaulted a young boy before plying many others with sexualised messages and indecent images in order to fulfil his own sexual desires.

“Through the use of social media, Green specifically targeted young boys living overseas and I would like to thank law enforcement agencies in various countries for working alongside us to safeguard victims and bring Green to justice.

“He was well aware that his victims were underage and that what he was doing was wrong, but despite this he continued with his appalling offending.

“Following a vigorous investigation, he was left with no choice but to plead guilty to these charges as a result of the sickening messages and images that we discovered on his devices.

“Thankfully, as a result of the evidence we gathered, he has now been held accountable for his actions and is facing a significant time behind bars where he can reflect upon his actions.

“Finally, I’d like to remind the public that we treat all reports of sexual offences extremely seriously and, with the wishes and needs of victims as our main priority, any allegations will be thoroughly investigated.”

If you have been a victim of sexual abuse, or know of someone who has, please call us on 101 or visit our website.

Information can also be reported anonymously, via Crimestoppers, on 0800 555 111.