Recorder William Clegg KC's remarks as he jails Jordan Reid

Recorder William Clegg KC delivered his scathing remarks of Jordan Reid, 30, during a sentencing at Chelmsford Crown Court on Wednesday.

The paedophile used a popular online chat platform to trick children into sending him sexual images and videos from his previous home in Witham.

Below, you can read what he had to say before he told the defendant, now of Victoria Gardens, Colchester: “You can go down”.

Offences were 'truly staggering'

“The catalogue of offending for which I must sentence you for today is truly staggering.

“You have indiscriminately groomed and manipulated young children, some in other countries, some we know not where, to abuse themselves both young boys and girlds.

“You deceived them into thinking you were also a young adolescent.

“What you were in fact doing was satisfying your own perverted sexual needs and then distributing the pictures they had sent you pursuant to your quests and encouragement to hundreds of other people.

“It is impossible to know quite how many children were corrupted by you or where they are.

Scathing remarks - Recorder William Clegg KC

“And it is difficult to know how many hundreds of Category A images you have distributed having persuaded the participants to do what your perverted mind asked them to.

“Familiar though this court is with offences of this type, the number and gravity of these offences quite dwarves that of those that customarily come before this court.

“There are 14 counts on the indictment for which I must pass sentence and I make it plain that in relation to count one* I pass a sentence that reflects not only your criminality on that count, but also your criminality on the whole of the indictment.

“And the sentences I pass on counts two to 14 will be concurrent with the sentence on count one.

'You corrupted a huge number of children'

“It is agreed that this is at the top of the sentencing guidelines guidance for sentencing in cases of this kind, and it is agreed that starting point is one of 13 years imprisonment with a range of 11 to 17 years.

“However, in your case I must also reflect the criminality covered by counts two to 14 and the huge number of individual children who were corrupted by you.

“There are two things that can be put forward by way of mitigation.

“One is your good character and the second is the credit that you are entitled for early and prompt plea of guilty which reduces the term that would otherwise be served by one third.

Twisted - Jordan Reid posed as a 14-year-old to trick children into sending him explicit content on online chat platform Discord (Image: Alexander Shatov/Unsplash)

“Despite those mitigating factors, I take the starting point in your case above that of the range specified by the sentencing council to reflect the gravity and number of offences.

“You have done untold damage to those children wherever they are and no one will ever know what psychological harm you have caused.

“Had you pleaded not guilty and contested this case, I would have passed a sentence of 21 years imprisonment reflecting all counts.

“As it is, you are entitled to the credit for your guilty plea so I reduce that to a sentence of 14 years imprisonment.”

'You can go down'

Mr Clegg continued: “Because of the length of the sentence and the fact you are of good character, I do not move to engage with the dangerousness provisions that might, in different circumstances, have been triggered by your case.

“And I am conscious that when you become eligible for parole the Probation Service will have an extensive package to ensure you are monitored carefully during that period.

“I make a Sexual Harm Prevention Order in the terms sought, there is no objection to that.

“That concludes this hearing. I’d like to thank both counsel for the helpful and, indeed, very realistic way I have been addressed.

“You can go down.”

*Count one in this case was inciting children to engage in a penetrative sexual act.