A 19-year-old Nigerian, Gift Ayoola, has been sentenced to four years in prison in the United Kingdom for recording sexual abuse involving children and selling the material to paedophiles.
Ayoola was sentenced at Cardiff Crown Court on Wednesday after pleading guilty to offences including making and distributing indecent images, possessing extreme pornography, and causing or inciting children to engage in sexual activities.
The court heard that Ayoola targeted children online, persuading them to participate in sexual activities while he recorded the interactions. He later sold the footage to paedophiles, with one buyer reportedly paying him £5,000 for images and videos.
According to Wales Online, Ayoola was found in possession of hundreds of images involving the sexual abuse of children. He had also communicated with children online, including a 12-year-old girl whom he instructed to expose herself while watching him engage in a sexual act.
Following his arrest in January 2025 at his home in Cardiff, several electronic devices were seized.
Investigators found 455 Category A images, including four obtained through recordings of children, 401 Category B images and 389 Category C images.
Extreme pornographic material depicting bestiality was also discovered.
The court was told that Ayoola participated in Telegram and WhatsApp group chats where indecent images of children were distributed.
Paedophiles also contacted him to purchase images and videos, with 877 items reportedly involved in transactions made through PayPal. He admitted receiving £5,000 from one buyer.
During questioning, Ayoola claimed that he had been supplied with photographs of teenagers aged between 16 and 18 and admitted sharing and sending the material because of pressure and financial needs.
Sentencing him, Judge Vanessa Francis said, “The children you exploited were much younger than you, some were very young indeed. These children required protection and you were encouraging them to pose for extremely harmful material. This was a grievous form of sexual abuse.
“These were not simply images; they were children whose trust and vulnerability were exploited in order to make sexual material.”
Ayoola was arrested again on March 5, 2026, and was found with further indecent images, including material involving children as young as four.
The discovery included 14 Category A images, 15 Category B images and 22 Category C images.
His lawyer, Martha Smith-Higgins, told the court that Ayoola had been a well-behaved child who lost his mother at the age of six before moving to the UK. She also said he was remorseful for his actions.
However, the judge rejected claims that Ayoola was not sexually attracted to children and that his offences were not sexually motivated.
He will therefore remain subject to sex offender notification requirements indefinitely and a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for 10 years.
