Man Arrested After Massive Online Child Abuse Investigation
Sussex Police have charged 20-year-old Samuel Carragher from Newhaven with dozens of shocking online child sex offences. The arrest follows a high-profile investigation by the force’s Online Child Abuse Team that began in June 2025 after officers spotted suspicious activity online.
Carragher was arrested at his Acacia Road home, accused of crimes involving at least 14 victims aged 13 to 17. The abuse is believed to have taken place over three years, between 2022 and 2025.
Terrifying List of Charges Against Samuel Carragher
Carragher faces a staggering range of allegations that include:
- 2 counts of distributing indecent images of children
- 3 counts of making indecent images of children
- 10 counts of engaging in sexual communication with a child
- 3 counts of threatening to share intimate images
- 4 counts of causing or inciting girls aged 13–15 to engage in penetrative sexual activity
- 5 counts of inciting girls aged 13–15 to engage in non-penetrative sexual activity
- 2 counts of causing girls aged 13–15 to view sexual images
- 1 count of sending a genital image to cause alarm or distress
- 3 counts of paying for sexual services of girls aged 13–15
- 3 counts of paying for sexual services of girls aged 16–17
- 1 count of paying for sexual services of a girl under 13
- 1 count of possessing an extreme pornographic image
Legal Proceedings and Victim Safeguarding
Carragher appeared at Brighton Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday, 24 March. He was remanded in custody and is set to return to court on Wednesday, 22 April, with the venue yet to be confirmed.
Sussex Police assured the public that safeguarding measures are actively in place for all known victims as the painstaking investigation continues.
