Met leads international investigation to bring down global paedophile network and put British ringleader behind bars

Following a Met investigation, Thomas Govan, 23 (08.11.2001) of Poulters Lane, Worthing was sentenced on Thursday, 14 November at Croydon Crown Court to 20 years in prison. He was also put on the sex offender register and was given a sexual harm prevention order.

Govan previously pleaded guilty on Wednesday, 18 September at Croydon Crown Court to 25 charges including rape, sexual assault, making and distributing indecent images of children, and several counts of encouraging children to watch sexual acts.

Met officers began looking into Govan in May as part of an investigation into a global paedophile ring. This led officers to discover a chat group on Telegram, an encrypted chat service, in which Govan had sadistically groomed a 13-year-old girl to self-harm and degrade herself on camera before he sold these images to other paedophiles online. Met officers later found out that Govan had also met with the girl on two occasions, filming him raping and sexually assaulting her which he went on to distribute.

Met officers carefully worked with colleagues from Sussex Police and police in Australia to comb through online messages and gather digital evidence including photographs and mobile phone data. After Govan was arrested on Tuesday, 14 May, Met officers conducted hours of interviews with him. Met officers also worked closely with specially trained officers to carefully obtain victim impact statements and ensure that victim-survivors and their families were provided with support.

This collaborative effort has led to the dismantling of an international sex-offenders group with the group’s suspected ring leader arrested in Australia.

Acting Detective Sergeant Lucy Fiander, from the Met’s Online Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation unit said: “Govan’s abhorrent offending and the impact on the victim-survivor and their family cannot be underestimated. My heart goes out to all of those affected.

“I want to thank both the Met officers for their diligence and professionalism, and the bravery of the victim-survivor and her family for their willingness to work with us. This has ensured a vile paedophile will no longer be able to take advantage of vulnerable children enjoying online games and chat rooms with their friends.

“We’ll do everything in our power to protect children, bringing to justice those predators who threaten their safety.”

Children and young people are the most vulnerable in society, and the Met is committed to keeping them safe in person and online. As part of the A New Met for London plan, officers are working closely with third sector partners, including The Children’s Society to help young people, parents and carers spot the signs of sexual abuse and predatory behaviour online and offline.