The global moderator of a website that shared tens of thousands of child sex abuse images and videos from his Swindon home has been jailed.

Brett Saunders, of Freshbrook, was sentenced to six years in prison after a National Crime Agency identified the 50-year-old as a leading figure in the illegal online organisation which “provided a safe space for paedophiles".

Under the username ‘Wetty’, Saunders implemented the dark web site’s rules and advised some of its 2,000 members on how to avoid detection from law enforcement.

He uploaded 115 images and videos of abuse to the site, and a further 65,000 files relating to indecent images of children were recovered from his devices.

Law enforcement found 3,000 posts made by him along with private messages he sent to other users which proved that his contribution was vital to the running of the site.

The messages showed how he had quickly risen through the ranks due to his commitment and encouragement of others to discuss and distribute images and videos of child sexual abuse.

Once NCA officers identified him as the person behind the Wetty username, they arrested the paedophile at his Swindon home in August 2022.

This footage shows the moment he was placed in handcuffs.

 

They seized several devices, including a laptop hidden under a cushion and a hard drive concealed in an air vent. The abuse site was still open on his laptop and he was logged into it.

NCA branch commander Adam Priestley said: “The dark website over which Brett Saunders presided even went beyond enabling access to sexual abuse images.

“It provided a safe space for like-minded paedophiles to normalise the abhorrent abuse of children.

“Motivated by his own sexual interests, he was committed to climbing up the ranks and securing the senior position of Global Moderator.

“He then used his role to encourage the site’s members to share abuse material and engage in discussions about sexually exploiting children.

“This is the latest NCA investigation to demonstrate that dangerous offenders who may think they can operate in the shadows online can be identified and brought to account.

“The NCA is committed to disrupting the most serious crime being committed on the dark web.”

In interview, Saunders admitted to having a sexual interest in children, particularly girls aged eight to 12, and confirmed that he held the rank of Global Moderator on the site.

He explained to officers that the site was run on a points-based system where users gained ‘reputation points’ for adhering to the rules and sharing abuse material.

New users to the site entered a guest portal and had to gain at least 10 reputation points to be admitted to the main site by sharing what Saunders described as “interesting material”.

He managed the guest portal, issued or deducted reputation points, and ultimately decided who would be allowed through to the main site.

Just days after Saunders was arrested by NCA officers, he was charged by Wiltshire Police for breaching the sexual harm prevention order that had been placed on him by the force when he was released from prison for his previous offending.

He was remanded in custody and later sentenced to two years and eight months in prison for the breach.

Earlier this year he appeared at Swindon Magistrates’ Court, where he pleaded guilty to nine counts which included arranging/facilitating the sexual exploitation of a child under 13, participating in the criminal activities of an organised crime group, distributing and making indecent images of children in categories A to C, and possessing a prohibited image of a child.

On March 5, a judge at Swindon Crown Court sentenced Saunders to six years imprisonment, gave him a lifetime Sexual Harm Prevention Order, and placed him on the Sex Offender Register for life.