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An intelligence officer at Britain’s FBI who abused his access to the dark web to view hundreds of indecent images of children on his work computer has been jailed for 18 months.

Adam Taylor, 40, of Waltham Abbey, Essex, admitted to two counts of misconduct in a public office, three counts of making indecent photographs of children, and one count of possessing an extreme pornographic image. Sentencing the former National Crime Agency (NCA) officer at Southwark Crown Court on Friday, Judge Justin Cole condemned Taylor for the “gross abuse of trust” placed in him.

The judge told Taylor: “Because of people like you there’s a market for this,” emphasizing that interest in “vile” indecent images has led to the “rape and torture of innocent children.

Abuse of Position

Taylor, a grade five intelligence officer in the NCA, equivalent to a police constable, had access to the dark web, although his work focused on offences involving drugs and firearms. He was arrested by officers from the NCA’s anti-corruption unit after it was established that an IP address linked to his home was accessing illegal content.

The defendant admitted to committing misconduct by making indecent images of children on a work device between March 2019 and April 2022. He had 221 category A images—the highest category of seriousness—as well as 203 extreme images and hundreds of category B and C images on both work and home electronic devices between May 2012 and the time of his arrest.

Prosecutor’s Statement

Prosecutor Amy Nicholson said Taylor “sought to use his employment to gain further access to child sexual abuse material” in “deliberate intentional acts” that caused a “high level” of harm. She added, “The defendant’s conduct will have undermined public trust and confidence in the NCA and its investigation of this sort of offending. Furthermore, the viewing and downloading of indecent photographs of children perpetuates the production of further indecent photographs, which requires the serious sexual abuse of young children.”

Defence and Sentencing

Eddison Flint, defending, said Taylor was at a low risk of reoffending and was “not a man who needs to add to the prison population.” However, Judge Cole handed down an 18-month prison sentence, a sexual harm prevention order, and required Taylor to sign the sex offenders register for 10 years.

Official Statements

Catrin Attwell, specialist prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), said: “Adam Taylor intentionally used his employment to obtain information to facilitate the viewing and downloading of indecent images of children and used NCA official devices for this purpose. The indecent images of children on the devices contained some of the most horrific sexual abuse of children. His actions were a gross breach of the trust placed in him as an officer and severely undermined the integrity and standards expected from those in his position.”

NCA director general Rob Jones said: “The NCA is committed to protecting children from sexual abuse, wherever in the world it is happening. We are determined to ensure there is no safe haven for perpetrators, including and especially within law enforcement. NCA officers from our anti-corruption unit carried out a meticulous, covert investigation which identified Taylor’s offending and ultimately brought him to justice. The NCA will work tirelessly to tackle corruption and breaches of our standards of professional behaviour, without fear or favour, wherever they occur. We welcome this custodial sentence which recognises the gravity of Taylor’s crimes.”