A WEST YORKSHIRE man has been jailed for two-and-a-half years for viewing child sexual abuse which was streamed on Zoom.

Nigel Coxson, 55, was identified by National Crime Agency (NCA) investigators as having logged into Zoom to watch pre-recorded abuse material in August 2017.

Coxson - who sometimes spells his surname as ‘Coxon’ - joined a breakout room where category A and B (A being the most severe) indecent images and videos of children were being streamed by another user, which involved the abuse of boys and girls aged between three and 15.

Coxson posted a number of comments which indicated a sexual interest in young girls.

He was arrested at his home on Somerset Road in Huddersfield on October 23, 2017 by NCA officers, who seized his mobile phone.

His phone was found to contain evidence that the Zoom application had been downloaded, but had since been deleted.

There was also evidence that Coxson had accessed a website used to check public facing IP addresses, to check that his had been anonymised prior to using Zoom.

When interviewed, he denied ever using Zoom, and claimed that his home Wi-Fi network had been hacked.

He did admit having a sexual interest in girls under 10.

Coxson was charged with four counts of making category A and B indecent images of children and convicted at Leeds Nightingale Court on March 7 this year following a six-day trial.

He was sentenced to 30 months imprisonment and made subject of a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order at Leeds Crown Court today.

He will also be placed on the sex offenders' register indefinitely. 

NCA operations manager, Neil Baxter, said: “Nigel Coxson took significant steps in an attempt to remain anonymous and cover up his criminality.

“He also made cynical claims about being hacked, but our investigators were able to prove without question that it was Coxson viewing this material on Zoom and telling complete strangers about his sexual interest in young girls.

“Behind every one of the videos he viewed was a victim of horrific abuse.

"The NCA will never relent in bringing offenders like Coxson to justice, nor protecting children from the worst abusers.”