A local man has been jailed for 15 months after pleading guilty to a number of child sex offences.

Karl Bassett, 26, of Harbour Views, was sentenced at the Supreme Court yesterday for three counts of Sexual Communication with a Child and five counts of Distribution of Indecent Images of Children.

The offences took place between 2018 and 2020 when the two victims of the sexual communication were under the age of 13.

The court heard how the Royal Gibraltar Police launched an investigation in May 2020, after receiving a report from the father of one of the victims.

As a result, detectives from the RGP’s Safeguarding Team arrested Bassett on suspicion of Sexual Communication with a Child.

A search warrant was then executed at his residence on 21 May 2020, where numerous media storage devices were seized.  

These devices were then forensically examined by the RGP. On Bassett’s laptop and mobile phone, detectives found evidence that he had distributed numerous images of child pornography, ranging from Category A, the most serious, to category C images.

He was then interviewed and charged for eight separate offences.

Detective Sergeant Jo Ullger, who heads the Safeguarding Team, said: “I’m content with the outcome of the investigation, as this type of crime cannot be tolerated.

“The community can rest assured that the images seized had no local connection. 

“I am satisfied that the victims’ families finally have closure.”

A hearing for an application for a Sexual Offenders Prevention Order has been adjourned to a later date.