A VILE paedophile raped and sexually abused girls as young as one then bragged about what he had done in messages to other perverts.

Ian Story was caught when police arrested him on suspicion of possessing and distribution of indecent images of children.

But when the images were examined, horrified officers realised Story was in several videos and pictures abusing children himself. He was easily identifiable by a tattoo and jewellery he was wearing.

When questioned about his behaviour Story told police he did it because he had not had adult sex for 10 years.

Michael Maher, prosecuting, told Bolton Crown Court: "The case concerns a 55-year-old defendant with a sexual interest in very young children.

"Over the course of a decade he has harvested a large collection of indecent images of toddlers and, indeed, generated his own collection."

The court heard that five young girls, including toddlers, were sexually assaulted, with Story sometimes filming himself committing the crimes and distributing them to other perverts.

In total Story pleaded guilty to two counts of rape, 14 counts of making indecent images of children, seven of sexually assaulting a child, two of assault by penetration of a child and one of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.

Mr Maher said that, when he was arrested and police searched his bedroom Story pointed out his phone and provided the pass code.

The court heard that Story's wife asked him if the allegations against him were true and he admitted they were.

Investigators found 15 videos on the phone including some which show a toddler performing a sex act on Story whilst he was "variously praising, encouraging and cajoling that little girl".

"There was powerful evidence of his identification as the defendant's tattoo was seen on the videos and, indeed, he had a distinctive watch and jewellery which were being worn by him," said Mr Maher.

On all Story's electronic devices police found he had downloaded a total of 904 of the most serious category A images, including 36 videos, 1,466 category B images and 21,795 category C images.

"This defendant had a profound interest in very young children as the majority of images show children between the ages of six months and eight years.

Mr Maher said Story, of Gordon Street, Leigh, was also distributing images to multiple individuals using email, WhatsApp and Telegram, an encrypted messaging service.

"Sexualised online chat with other sexual miscreants show the defendant bragging about the sexual abuse," said Mr Maher.

Police managed to identify victims in the videos and pictures produced by Story.

"He admitted he was sexually gratified by what the children did, ” said Mr Maher. "The bizarre explanation he gave for this predilection was, 'I think I missed out on not having any sex for about 10 years'."

In statements to the court the families of Story's victims described it like being in "a nightmare".

Paul Becker, defending, stressed that married Story was previously a man of good character and has shown some remorse.

Jailing Story for an extended sentence of 18 years plus a further five years on licence Judge Graeme Smith told him: "It is impossible to listen to the graphic details of that abuse without feeling disbelief that someone could treat any child in such an appalling way.

"You considered only your own depraved interests."

He added that Story's "deeply engrained desire" to abuse children means he poses a "high risk of serious harm" to them.

Speaking after the sentencing DC Philip Kelley of Greater Manchester Police said: “These offences were heinous and despicable, and I am glad we have been able to take this man off the streets and put him behind bars. 

“Story’s abuse was purely for his own perverted sexual gratification and he did not spare a minute’s thought for the devastating and lasting impact crimes such as this can have on the lives of victims. 

“Ensuring that victims are safeguarded and offenders are brought to justice is one of GMP’s highest priorities. I hope today’s sentencing serves as a stark reminder that the abuse of children will never be tolerated and you could face a lengthy jail sentence. There are a number of specialist services available to help prevent offending.”