A former soldier stationed in North Yorkshire was sentenced to 24 years in prison today at Leeds Crown Court for online child abuse.

Austen Tobias Fleming, 28, of Stirling Road, Kilsyth admitted to 83 cyber-enabled child sexual abuse and exploitation offences across the UK.

Officers established Fleming would set up multiple fake social media accounts in attempt to groom children.

Detective Constable Tom Sutcliffe from the Online Child Abuse Team at North Yorkshire Police, who led the investigation, said: “This has been a large-scale investigation involving constabularies in Scotland, England and Wales. Their support has been crucial in obtaining accounts from the many victims of Fleming.

“It has also required collaborative safeguarding working involving social services across the UK to ensure the young people involved receive the support that they need.

“I have nothing but praise for the continued bravery of the victims.”

Fleming was based at Dishforth Airfield, near Thirsk, when the Online Child Abuse Team (OCAT) acted on intelligence that he had attempted to extort sexual imagery from a child.

He was arrested on 14 November 2022 and his accommodation was searched for evidence.

Following this, detectives found his offending to be on a prolific scale, with victims from across the country who needed to be traced and safeguarded.

Fleming was further arrested on suspicion of making indecent images of children and facilitating a child sex offence.

The investigation established that his offending stemmed from December 2020 to January 2023.

He was interviewed and bailed while the investigation intensified in recovering more evidence. This led to his re-arrest on 16 December 2024 for multiple offences.

These included; blackmail, causing a child to engage in sexual activity, causing the exploitation of a child, and distributing indecent images of children.

One victim was so badly traumatised by the threats Fleming made that he attempted to take his own life.

DC Sutcliffe added: “Fleming is clearly a depraved offender who poses a significant danger to young people especially. He now faces a long time in prison and will be robustly monitored by the authorities for the rest of his life.”