A CHILD rapist took sordid photographs of himself abusing a little boy, a court heard.

Although the victim told his mum what had happened she felt unable to tell the police or social services.

But in May last year the National Crime Agency discovered that his abuser Robert Trigg had been accessing child abuse images from the internet and raided his home.

They seized electronic items from his bedroom including his iPhone and when it was forensically examined indecent images were found, said Arthur Gibson, prosecuting.

Liverpool Crown Court heard that there were 36 images in the most serious category of abuse, 38 in the next category and 137 in the least serious group.

It was noticed that there were three images in each category showing the same young boy. Others showed him with relatives which led to police being able to identify him and showed that the indecent images had been taken in a bedroom at the victim’s Wirral home.

Mr Gibson said that the offences had taken place when the boy was aged between three and five. 

Pervert Trigg had moved the sordid images, showing him and the boy both naked engaged in inappropriate sexual behaviour, to a secure “keep safe vault” on his phone so that he could look at them whenever he wanted.

32-year-old Trigg, of Fairclough Crescent, Haydock, pleaded guilty to oral rape of the child, two offences of causing or inciting him to engage in sexual activity and three offences of taking indecent photographs of the boy.

The court heard that since those offences he has been convicted of three offences of downloading a total of 147 indecent images in all three categories of seriousness, for which he received a community order.

Jailing him for 11 and a half years with an extended licence of 12 months Judge Denis Watson, QC described his behaviour as involving “grotesque and serious offending".

He said he would sentence him on the basis that the victim had been aged five and that the offences all took place on the same day. He pointed out that he had kept the images “so you could access them if you wished to do so".

Judge Watson said that reports showed that Trigg “poses a high risk of re-offending against children”.

He ordered him to sign on the Sex Offenders Register for life and imposed a Sexual Harm Prevention Order to last indefinitely.

Paul Becker, defending, said that Trigg was an intelligent man who had 13 GCSEs and had worked in various roles including the hotel industry. “Sadly his life has been blighted by alcohol.”

He has been involved in working for the charity, the HoneyRose Foundation in St Helens, said Mr Becker.

“He accepts full responsibility for these terrible offences and is thoroughly ashamed of himself.”