A MAN has been jailed for 10 years after pleading guilty to 26 charges of child sex exploitation offences.

Jason Paske, 40, was sentenced today at York Crown Court, for charges including making and distributing indecent images of children, attempting to arrange sexual activity with a teenage boy, and perverting the course of justice.

Paske, from Bristol, targeted victims including someone from Scarborough, and was investigated by North Yorkshire Police's Protecting Vulnerable Persons Unit and by Avon and Somerset Constabulary.

He was arrested in May 2014, and the joint investigation has uncovered suspected offenders in Germany and the Czech Republic, and investigations are being continued in those countries with assistance from Interpol.

Detective Constable Nigel Pepper, of North Yorkshire Police’s Protecting Vulnerable Persons Unit in Scarborough, said: "Jason Paske is a truly horrendous and perverted man who is a menace to society.

"It is individuals like him that the public - in this country and worldwide -need protecting from, particularly in this age of the internet and social media. It is very satisfying for everyone involved in the investigation that Paske is now behind bars for a long time."

Detective Constable Sarah King, from the Internet Child Abuse Team at Avon and Somerset Constabulary, said: "Paske is a prolific offender who poses a real threat to children.

"He has exploited children in the worst possible way and has used the internet and social media to try and access more abhorrent material for his own sexual gratification. I hope this case serves to highlight that we will work with our partner forces and agencies to bring offenders like Paske to justice."