In his crime-fighting post addressing drugs and gun offences, 40-year-old- Adam Taylor had access to the Dark Web but used it to view illicit photos, including the sexual abuse of minors.
Never leaving the family house, the NCA’s anti-corruption squad arrested the grade five intelligence officer upon unlawful material accessed via an IP address connected to his home.
Taylor, from Waltham Abbey, Essex, was sentenced to eighteen months in jail upon admission of two acts of misconduct in a public office, three counts of indecent images of minors, and one crime of possessing an extreme pornographic image at Southwark Crown Court on Friday.
Judge Justin Cole denounced Taylor for a “gross abuse of trust” and claimed his activities support the internet sexual exploitation of children.
“Because of people like you, there’s a market for this,” he continued, noting that “vile” indecent photographs originate from the “rape and torture of innocent children”.
Between March 2019 and April 2022, Taylor said he created obscene photographs of minors using his work computer.
Between May 2012 and the time of his detention, he possessed 221 Category A images, the highest category of seriousness; 203 extreme pornographic photographs; and hundreds of Category B and C images on both work and home electronic devices.
In “deliberate intentional acts” causing a “high level of harm,” prosecutor Amy Nicholson said Taylor “sought to use his employment to gain further access to child sexual abuse material.”
She continued: “The defendant’s actions will have eroded public faith in the NCA and its handling of this kind of wrongdoing.
“Moreover, the viewing and downloading of obscene images of children fuels the creation of more obscene images, which calls for the grave sexual abuse of young children.”
Declaring he is “not a man who needs to add to the prison population,” Eddison Flint, mitigating for Taylor, begged for a suspended prison term.
Taylor was put under a sexual harm prevention order as part of his sentence and will be on the sex offenders registry for the next ten years.
Specialist prosecutor Catrin Attwell of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said: “Adam Taylor deliberately used his employment to collect information to allow the viewing and downloading of indecent photographs of children and used NCA official devices for this purpose.
“Some of the most terrible sexual abuse of children found in the devices’ indecent images.”
“His acts seriously compromised the integrity and standards expected of persons in his capacity as an officer, breaching his confidence.
“After joint efforts from the CPS and the NCA, Taylor was left with no option but to plead guilty and face the consequences of his actions.”
Rob Jones, director general of NCA, said: “The NCA is committed to safeguarding children from sexual abuse, wherever in the world it is happening.
“We are resolved to guarantee that there is no safe refuge for offenders, including notably inside law enforcement.
“NCA officials from our anti-corruption team conducted a thorough, covert inquiry that found Taylor’s misconduct, resulting in his being brought to justice.
“Without regard for either good or bad, the NCA will work nonstop to address corruption and violations of our rules of professional conduct anywhere they arise.
“We appreciate this custodial term acknowledging the seriousness of Taylor’s crimes.”