North London man jailed for distributing indecent images of children following Met investigation

A man has been jailed for 3 years and 6 months following an investigation by Met officers, which proved he was using social media platforms to distribute indecent images and communicate with young children.

An investigation commenced after police became aware a man was in possession of indecent images of children. After this initial report, officers were able to gain access to his social media, where they discovered he had been communicating with children.

The Met is continuing to prioritise making London safer for women and children by placing hundreds more officers into bigger teams and rolling out specialist training using innovative methods, data, and technology to track down offenders and bring them to justice.

Simon Hynes, 41 (07.12.83), of Douglas Road, Brent, was sentenced to 3 years and 6 months on Wednesday, 30 July at Harrow Crown Court.

Hynes pleaded guilty to 20 charges on Thursday, 24 April at Southwark Crown Court. A breakdown of the offences are as follows:

• Three counts of taking indecent images of children

• Three counts distributing indecent images of children

• One count of possession of extreme images

• Thirteen counts of attempting to engage in sexual communications with a child

Detective Chief Inspector Brian Kelleher, who led the Met investigation, said:

“My thoughts are with those children and families who have been harmed by Hynes’ offending online over a number of years. We will continue working to identify and support survivors of this kind of abuse.”

"The Met is working hard to pursue predators, and this sentencing is testament to the investigation team who worked diligently to build a file of evidence and ensure Hynes was not free to cause further harm to children. Their commitment has undoubtedly prevented further suffering, and they are a credit to the Met.”

Detective Sargent Callum Mantell from the Met Police who worked on the investigation added:

“The Met is prioritising violence against women and girls and this case demonstrates our commitment to tackling these offences in all forms, while ensuring those impacted are safeguarded and supported.”

“We believe there may be further children impacted and urge anyone who thinks they may have been a victim of Hynes to come forward and speak to officers.”

In December 2022, officers received initial reports that Hynes was in possession of indecent images of children. On his arrest, officers seized a number of devices, alongside a number of knives, a machete and an axe. Trained analysts began a trawl of his phones, where they discovered hundreds of indecent images of children.

Officers were able to gain access to Hynes’ social media accounts, where they discovered an account belonging to him which was being used to engage with children and to distribute indecent images of children.

Officers found chat logs where Hynes was communicating with children as young as eight years, sharing sexual images while encouraging them to sexually abuse their siblings.

Officers worked quickly to compile evidence against Hynes. They are now working to identify the victims that Hynes engaged with to offer support.

If you think you may have been impacted, we would urge you to call police on 101, or 999 in an emergency – we have specially trained officers who will listen and investigate where needed.

Alternatively call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111, or report online. You can also report abuse and get support from the NSPCC – 0808 800 5000, or visit www.nspcc.org.uk.

People who sexually abuse children rely on secrecy to make sure their abuse is not discovered and reported. There can be physical or behavioural signs that a child is being abused – children often show us rather than tell us something wrong:

• Child suddenly having nightmares or other sleeping problems.

• Becoming withdrawn or very clingy.

• The child acting in a sexual way with toys or objects.

• Personality changes such as outbursts of anger or changes in eating habits.

• Having unexplained gifts such as money, a mobile phone and/or expensive clothes.

For awareness the usernames used by Hynes are shared below, we urge anyone that recognises these usernames to contact police on 101.

• sweetmale3700
• Genuine uk guy looking for genuine horny uk girls
• bigboy38000_qjl