// BBC UK NEWS — CRONACA
'Dangerous' paedophile who discussed abuse online is jailed for 21 years
A predatory and dangerous paedophile who abused a young child and used chatrooms to plan the abuse of others has been jailed for 21 years.
Craig Henton, 54, was tracked down from an encrypted messaging app where he had said he had planned to commit sexual offences against a five-year-old girl.
Investigators found more than 4,000 indecent images and videos at Henton's home in Port Talbot.
He admitted 18 offences in October 2025, ahead of his sentencing at Swansea Crown Court on Tuesday.
The National Crime Agency (NCA) said Henton was a "predatory and dangerous paedophile" who had abused a child and had shown "willingness to meet up with others... to satisfy his depraved sexual gratification".
The NCA, which led the investigation, said Henton had told app users between February and May 2024 that he had been a paedophile for 25 years.
He had said he had befriended a vulnerable mother to gain access to her daughter and groom her with the intention of sexually abusing her.
His phone had showed he had participated in hundreds of chats with users about the sexual abuse of children and discussed meeting up with them and their children so he could commit abuse.
During the NCA investigation, a total of 4,570 indecent images and videos were found on a device seized from Henton, including 918 in category A, the most serious type.
The NCA said the child that Henton said he had sexually assaulted, who was aged between three and five, had been identified and safeguarded.