Mechanic running child sexual abuse site gets 16 years jail

A Cheshire-based mechanic has been jailed for 16 years for creating sites dedicated to child sexual abuse on the dark web, according to media reports.

Nathan Bake, 28, was the second in command of the now-defunct site ‘The Annex’, which had 90,000 global members and they discussed extreme sexual abuse of children.

The Annex was run by an American man, who was sentenced to life in prison by a US court in January.

National Crime Agency had worked with several international partners to identify three UK-based moderators, including Bake.

The other two were Kabir Garg, a psychiatrist from London, and a 48-year-old man from Eastbourne, who will be sentenced at Lewes Crown Court next week. Garg was jailed last year for six years.

Bake was also managing around 30 staff members to ensure the smooth running of the site.

The moderators used to advise members on techniques to evade the police and encourage them to keep the site busy by sharing links to child abuse content.

NCA officers arrested Bake at his home in Runcorn in November 2022 and seized several devices, including laptops, phones, USBs, and external hard drives.

Bake pleaded guilty to 12 counts in November 2023, including facilitating the sexual exploitation of children, participating in an organised crime group, possession of a paedophile manual, and distributing and making indecent images of children.

He was sentenced recently at Chester Crown Court to 16 years imprisonment, placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life and given a lifetime Sexual Harm Prevention Order.

NCA Senior Investigating Officer Daniel Waywell said that Bake started off as a user of The Annex and worked his way up by gaining the trust of other moderators.

In the US, 14 men have been convicted for their involvement in running The Annex.