A man who was found guilty of multiple child sex offences has been jailed for more than two decades.

Christopher Shepherd, 44, of Spondon, Derbyshire, was sentenced to 24 years in prison at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court on Wednesday (17 June) after he was found guilty of one count of rape of a girl under 13, one count of sexual assault of a girl under 13 and one count of meeting a girl under 16 following grooming.

During the trial, Shepherd pleaded guilty to three counts of making an indecent photograph/pseudo-photograph of a child.

Staffordshire Police said an investigation found that Shepherd had been speaking to a number of girls online between 2021 and 2022. He would send and receive indecent images in the conversations with the victims.

Shepherd also arranged to meet one of the victims. He picked her up in his car and raped her.

A spokesperson for Staffordshire Police said: "After Shepherd's offending was reported to us in 2022, we arrested him.

"Officers from our child protection team worked tirelessly to support the survivors and to build the evidence against him."

Speaking following the sentencing, Detective Constable Angela Maxfield, from the Staffordshire Police child protection team, said: "We are working night and day, 365-days a year, to take robust action against those preying on vulnerable people online for a sexual purpose.

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"Despite Shepherd's initial attempts to plead his innocence, we made sure through our evidence and investigation that the jury were able to see the extent of his offending and bring him to justice.

"We're determined to support survivors of sexual offences in Staffordshire and continue taking proactive action against those responsible."

A spokesperson for Staffordshire Police added: "If you're a survivor and you want to talk to us, you can get in touch by calling 101 or using Live Chat on our website."