A HUSBAND and wife have been jailed for sexually abusing a child and taking a picture as they did so.

Daniel Cruise and wife Barbara, pictured, who is a teaching assistant, locked themselves in their bedroom and he tried to destroy evidence when police came knocking at their door in Luckham Road, Bournemouth.

But officers found thousands of downloaded images of children on his computer and another picture taken by him showed his wife abusing the girl, now aged seven, who was described by a judge as “vulnerable”.

The offences took place between January 2009 and August 2010.

Daniel Cruise, 48, has been jailed for four years and four months while his wife, 43, was given two years.

He admitted perverting the course of justice, causing or inciting a child to engage under 13 in sexual activity and 25 counts of taking or making indecent photographs of children. His wife, known by some by her middle name Tracy, admitted sexual assault of a child under 13.

The couple had since moved from Luckham Road and Barbara Cruise moved to Whetstone in Leicester before she was jailed.

Simon Jones, prosecuting at Bournemouth Crown Court, said police arrived at their house on June 12 this year and Barbara Cruise opened the door before going upstairs to the bedroom where her husband was.

He said: “DVDs were under the bed and both defendants were in the locked room where Daniel Cruise destroyed six DVDs.

“DC Laura Julier could hear the sound of cracking plastic from outside the bedroom door.”

Mr Jones said Daniel Cruise took a picture of his wife sexually assaulting a child and when Mr Jones described her involvement a loud gasp came from the public gallery, full of local parents.

Mr Jones said Daniel Cruise took four pictures of the girl that they had abused.

On his computer officers found downloaded indecent images, five of which were grade five, the most serious grade.

He had 482 grade four images, 512 grade three images, 138 grade two images and 7,090 grade one images.

David Richards, in mitigation for Daniel Cruise, said he had earlier been subjected to physical and sexual abuse himself.

Isabelle Gillard, for Barbara Cruise, said she was a mother of six, having had four children with Daniel Cruise.

Judge Peter Johnson told the pair their conduct had been “outrageous”.

“No other word will suffice and the public are outraged by what you did.”

The couple must sign onto the sexual offenders register and are now subject to a sexual offence order.

Detective Constable Laura Julier said: “Daniel and Barbara Cruise groomed a vulnerable family and their equally vulnerable child – their actions were shocking and utterly inexcusable. The couple were arrested after a warrant was executed at their home address during a ‘day of action’ organised by the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (CEOP).”

‘Not happy with prison term length’

A GROUP of mothers who know Daniel and Barbara Cruise were in court to see them jailed.

But afterwards they told the Daily Echo how they were not happy with the length of their jail terms.

One mum said: “That’s all they get for wrecking people’s lives? That’s disgusting.”

Another said: “I’m just sickened.”

“They could at least have got 10 years, what about that little girl.”