A PAEDOPHILE described as "a devious monster" filmed himself sexually abusing a young girl and then posted the footage on the internet, Lincoln Crown Court was told.

Joshua Perreau, a university student, also took indecent photographs of two other young children and distributed other images via a chatroom.

Jonathan Dunne, prosecuting, said that Perreau, who was studying film at Bournemouth University, was caught after police in the USA discovered he was involved in uploading illegal images of children.

The information was passed on to UK police and Perreau was arrested on a train in April while he was travelling back to his university.

Mr Dunne said "On the way to the police station he made a comment that he did not realise that what he had been doing was so serious.

"His laptop was looked at and found to contain a series of folders and sub-folders containing indecent images of children."

Mr Dunne said that a total of 1,687 indecent images of children were found on the lap top together with a large amount of extreme pornography.

Film of Perreau sexually abusing a five year old girl was found on his mobile phone.

The court heard that a number of the offences were committed when Perreau was staying in Skegness. Other offences were carried out at times when he was living in Leicestershire.

Mr Dunne said the victims and their families had been left devastated by what Perreau did with one father describing Perreau as "a devious monster".

Perreau, 20, of Pitwines Close, Poole, admitted sexual assault of a child under 13. He also admitted six charges of making indecent images of children, three charges of taking indecent images and three charges of distributing indecent image together with possession of prohibited images of a child and possession of extreme pornography. The offences occurred between December 2014 and April 2018.

He was jailed for five years and given a two year licence extension. He was also placed on the sex offenders' register for life and given a seven year sexual harm prevention order.

Recorder Jacob Hallam QC said: "You developed what can only be described as an obsession with pornography.

"You took images for your own sexual gratification and in due course they were for the sexual gratification of others. The children you made your victims were in many ways the most vulnerable they could be.

"They were far, far too young to say no and far too young to understand the depravity of what you were doing.

"It is profoundly troubling what is said in your probation report which is you that said that if they didn't look upset it was alright. How you could possibly think that the children were not distressed is beyond comprehension."

Kevin Hill, in mitigation, said Perreau had entered guilty pleas at the earliest opportunity and has shown genuine remorse and shame.