Paedophile whose messages about raping children were ‘the stuff of nightmares’ is jailed for life

A paedophile who sent ‘utterly depraved’ messages planning to rape children as young as six has been jailed for life for a string of child sex offences.

Edward Gratwick, 68, had been using encrypted apps including Teleguard and Session to communicate with offenders in the UK and around the world.

In March, he was arrested at Stansted Airport as he attempted to board a flight to Romania after officers were informed about a UK national who had been discussing with another person online about meeting up to sexually abuse a nine-year old girl, the National Crime Agency (NCA) said.

The agency said Gratwick’s online messages were ‘some of the worst material’ that specialist child abuse investigators ‘have ever seen’.

When Gratwick was arrested, officers found items they believe he was planning to use to abuse children.

He was found guilty of 38 offences including arranging or attempting to arrange the commission of a child sex offence, attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child, distributing indecent images of children and possessing indecent images of children following a trial at Guildford Crown Court.

On Friday, he was handed a life sentence with a minimum term of 20 years.

Addressing the defendant, Judge Claire Harden-Frost said: ‘You have shown yourself to be utterly manipulative, you have the tools to deceive and avoid detection.’

The judge said Gratwick had ‘shown no remorse’ and that his offences ‘speak for themselves’.

Of one group of messages sent by Gratwick, she added: ‘Again this discussion is the stuff of nightmares, it is utterly depraved.’

The paedophile had told his trial he had been ‘seeking to investigate the world of child abuse’, the judge said, adding that jurors had seen through this ‘desperate attempt to avoid conviction’.

Gratwick, who is from Mitcham, south London, and wore a blue puffer jacket and glasses, raised his eyebrows at several members of the public as he left the dock at the end of the hearing.

After his arrest, officers searched his house and seized his electronic devices and discovered he had been sharing indecent images of children and discussing child sexual abuse with people he believed had access to young girls aged between six and 10 years old, the NCA said.

The agency said officers had found more than 1,300 indecent images of children on Gratwick’s devices, including 632 that were in the most serious category A, adding that he had been using encrypted apps including Teleguard and Session to communicate with offenders in the UK and around the world.

In mitigation, Kathryn Wilson, defending, described Gratwick as ‘somewhat of a Walter Mitty character’, adding that some individuals present in court may ‘feel that there is some degree of fantasy around the building of his belief in what he was doing’.

She said that in the past, Gratwick had ‘proved very useful to investigating authorities’.

Gratwick previously pleaded guilty to the possession and supply of a Class B drug and was found not guilty of one count of arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sex offence.

The offences spanned the period between February 2023 and March 2025.

After the sentencing, Robbie Weber, specialist prosecutor for the CPS, said: ‘The abuse Edward Gratwick described inflicting on young children with other like-minded individuals was abhorrent.

‘It was clear from the evidence that he was intent on harming and abusing children and was willing to pay significant sums of money to do it.

‘Not content with satisfying his own sexual desires, he also advised and encouraged others how they could commit equally horrific crimes.’

Danielle Pownall, senior investigating officer at the NCA, said: ‘The chat logs recovered from Edward Gratwick’s devices are some of the worst seen by specialist child abuse investigators at the NCA.

‘Gratwick has continually denied the offences he faced, despite overwhelming and indisputable evidence, which shows his lack of remorse and disregard for the safety and welfare of children.

‘I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to the members of the jury, who over the last six weeks have considered distressing evidence which no-one should ever have to hear.

‘I echo the words of gratitude from Her Honour Judge Harden-Frost in light of what they have heard, culminating in guilty verdicts against Gratwick.

‘Work continues with our international partners to identify those who Gratwick was engaging with and we will do everything in our power to safeguard any children from harm, wherever they are.’

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