A "DANGEROUS" man caught with a disturbing paedophile manual and indecent images of children on a VR headset has admitted multiple offences.

Daren Anthony Jones, 58, of Burgess Field, Chelmsford appeared at Chelmsford Magistrates Court yesterday, where he admitted ten offences, including possession of a paedophile manual.

An investigation into Jones was launched in August after police received information of him creating and being in possession of indecent images of children.

Police quickly raided his home in Chelmsford and seized several electronic devices including two virtual reality headsets.

Digital enquiries revealed that the headsets had accessed multiple pornographic videos involving underage children.

Officers also found Jones to be in possession of a paedophile manual, which contained disturbing detail around how to make contact with children and avoid being caught by the police.

Jones’ had been released with bail conditions while these enquiries were ongoing.

However, police acted quickly on Monday after receiving a report of Jones taking pictures of children in the Chelmer Village area. Despite Jones’ attempts to delete the images, CCTV enquiries supported the allegations against him.

He was quickly charged with the following:

  • Four counts of making indecent photographs of a child, possession of extreme pornographic images portraying act likely to result in serious injury
  • Possession of extreme pornographic images portraying act which involved sexual interference with a corpse
  • Possession of extreme pornographic images portraying act of intercourse with an animal
  • Possession of a paedophile manual
  • Possession of a prohibited image of a child
  • Taking an indecent photo of a child

After admitting to all offences yesterday, Jones was remanded into custody. He will next appear in court on April 1

Detective Inspector Emma Portfleet said: “Jones has proven himself to be a dangerous individual and the evidence presented by our police online investigation team (POLIT) has resulted in this guilty plea.

“This was the first investigation within POLIT where we have located indecent images of children on virtual reality headsets. As disturbing as this is, I can assure the public that we are trained gathering the intelligence around these images and we will always act quickly to facilitate an arrest.

“As technology develops, offenders will use this to try disguise their criminality. Our team is one step ahead and we will continue to work hard to protect vulnerable people.

“I would like to commend our officers, who have work tirelessly on this case which has undoubtedly been distressing for them. Despite having to view graphic evidence, they do this to keep people safe and we will continue to support them throughout investigations. I would also like to commend the member of the public who confronted Jones in Chelmsford on Monday.”