A PAEDOPHILE who raped and sexually abused a baby has been jailed for life.

Gareth Davis, from Runcorn, was handed a life imprisonment with a minimum term of 27 years at Chester Crown Court yesterday, Monday after admitting his vile crimes.

The 43-year-old was arrested in October last year after a National Crime Agency investigation discovered that he had posted a number of indecent images of children online.

Some of these showed him raping and sexually assaulting a baby, whilst he had also taken naked pictures of another young child.

A further 512 vile sexual photographs of children were found on his mobile phone, along with screenshots of Google image searches for ‘baby models’ and ‘underground child modelling photos’.

Davis pleaded guilty to rape, sexual assault and three counts of making indecent images of children during an earlier hearing.

If he is released, he will remain on licence and on the sex offenders’ register for life.

Kerry Gilgrist from the NCA said: “The abuse carried out by Davis is nothing short of horrendous.

“He raped a baby and exploited another child for his own sexual gratification, then went one step further and shared images of his abuse with another like-minded individual online.

“There is no greater priority for the NCA than disrupting sexual offenders and protecting children.

“I’m pleased that this investigation has ensured Davis has been brought to justice and is now behind bars, where he no longer poses a threat.”