Ryan Smith was member of online group called ‘baby rapist’ and caught with videos showing newborns being sexually abused
WARNING: This article contains deeply disturbing content
A Stockton paedophile who saved and shared some of the most horrific child abuse material police officers have ever encountered has been jailed for eight years.
Ryan Smith, 23, was a member of an online group called “baby rapist” where users discussed ways to “kidnap and rape” babies and young children. Some of the victims in the sick videos were newborn babies still wearing hospital wrist bands when they were sexually abused.
Teesside Crown Court heard Smith kept a manual in his phone’s notes section entitled “The pervert’s bucket list”, which contained “14 different ways to commit serious sexual and physical abuse (of children) including raping and stabbing.
Police raided Smith’s Stockton home in the early hours of 14 October last year after receiving information linking him to indecent images of children uploaded online. The court heard he was already accessing vile content at 6.30am when officers arrived.
In chats on the encrypted app TeleGuard, Smith, who called himself “Jordan Campbell” online, claimed to be grooming the child of a single mother. He stated that he told her the bruises he inflicted on the child were because “he fell down the toilet”.
He told other users: “I like babies – the younger, the better.”
Emma Atkinson, prosecuting, said online chats showed Smith “sharing his desires to kidnap, rape, and torture children.” The court heard Smith had ordered an NHS-style lanyard from Amazon and had applied for a job at his local hospital, though there was no evidence he had abused any children himself.
Smith did work as a cleaner at a high school, but only at times when pupils had gone home.
The scale of Smith’s depravity was revealed when police examined his devices. He was caught with:
- 995 images and 566 videos in category A – the most serious type of child sexual abuse
- 718 category B images and 190 videos
- 1,025 category C images and 65 videos
- 85 prohibited images showing children being sexually abused
- 116 photos showing the sexual abuse of animals
He shared 71 images and videos with other online users.
Judge Francis Laird told Smith that the violence in the images “was so extreme, it is highly likely that serious physical injury was caused and incalculable psychological harm.”
The judge said the content “was truly shocking even to those who unfortunately have considerable professional experience of viewing indecent images.”
In mitigation, Robert Mochrie said: “The public needs to be aware that in accepting work, we represent our clients, irrespective of what the defendant is charged with and how appalling the offences are.
Mr Mochrie told the court: “Mr Smith himself was not the creator of these images. The people who are responsible for making these images – there is a special place in hell for them.”
The defence barrister said the content was so disturbing that he checked whether it had been made using artificial intelligence, but specialist police officers confirmed the victims were real children and the abuse had taken place.
“Mr Smith told his own story to his probation officer,” Mr Mochrie continued. “Clearly a depraved sexual interest was established at a young age. He would go so far as to book a hotel room so that he could engage in this filth – undisturbed for a whole day at a time.”
A pre-sentence report found that Smith “requires active risk management” as “he has the ability to sexually abuse a child – demonstrated by his ability to desensitise.
Smith, of Sorrel Close in Stockton, pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children; three counts of distributing indecent images; possession of a paedophile manual; possession of prohibited images; and possession of extreme pornography.
He stood trial over a tenth charge of attempted sexual communication with a child but was cleared of the offence by a jury in April.
Smith was handed an extended eight-year sentence made up of a four-year prison term and four years on extended licence in the community. He will serve two-thirds of the prison component before the parole board will decide if it is safe to release him.
He was made the subject of a 10-year sexual harm prevention order and will sign the sex offenders’ register.
After the sentencing, Constable Barnes from Cleveland Police’s Paedophile Online Investigation Team (POLIT), said: “I have managed sex offenders and investigated sexual offences for over 10 years and Ryan Smith is, by far, the worst offender I have dealt with in relation to this type of crime. Every minute of footage on his phone showed a baby or child suffering extreme abuse.
“The horrific content he was accessing, and sharing, was very specific and mainly involved babies and toddlers. The content was so harrowing, our team went as far as to warn defence to be cautious as this is some of the most horrific content we have been exposed to.
“Smith was accessing this content, in the main depicting pain and suffering, for his own satisfaction and nothing more. Smith’s offending is abhorrent; in my eyes, he has committed the most horrendous crimes imaginable.
“When our team arrested Smith in October 2024 it was 6.30am and he had already been on his device accessing vile content. Since then, officers from the team have gone above and beyond to gather evidence against Smith. At times it was extremely difficult for the team, as they had to view everything which Smith accessed; the tenacity and expertise of the team as a whole secured the convictions against Smith.
Smith has shown no shame or remorse for the crimes he has committed, even answering ‘no comment’ when interviewed, for this, he deserves to spend a long time behind bars where he cannot cause further harm.
The case highlights the continuing work of specialist police units in tracking down those who access and share child abuse material online, with Cleveland Police’s POLIT team dealing with some of the most challenging and disturbing cases imaginable.
If you have concerns about a child’s safety or welfare, please contact the NSPCC helpline on 0808 800 5000. If you’re worried about online sexual abuse or the way someone has been communicating with a child online, you can report it to CEOP at www.ceop.police.uk/safety-centre.
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