A man has been convicted following a meticulous investigation by detectives specialising in tackling the sexual abuse and exploitation of children.
Keith Edun, 47, of Strathmore Road, Croydon, appeared at Croydon Crown Court on Monday, 2 December, where he pleaded guilty to inciting the rape of a baby, distribution of indecent images of children, two counts of making indecent images of children and perverting the course of justice.
Investigating officer Detective Constable Phill Govett said: “This was an extremely complex investigation involving the digital forensic examination of multiple devices, cross-referencing his online activity with real-world actions which revealed what a scheming and meticulous offender Edun is.
“He went to great lengths to hide his offending, but I’m glad to see that despite his attempts to evade justice for his crimes, he will now face the consequences of his actions.”
In July 2021, police were informed that an unknown user had shared several indecent images of children via an account on the social media app ‘Kik’.
Detectives working in the Met’s Online Child Sexual Abuse & Exploitation Command were informed and began investigating immediately. They could link the account to an address in Croydon where Edun resided. A search warrant was executed in September 2021, and the digital devices found to be present were seized for examination.
Officers could link Edun to the offending account due to their thorough examination of the seized devices. Edun had been pretending to be a female named “Sally” on multiple social media platforms for several years.
A separate investigation by another force led to the conviction of a male for the rape of a baby, which occurred in March 2020. Upon examination of that male’s devices, the investigating officers located online communication with Edun’s Kik account, during which Edun had encouraged the male to commit the rape.
Officers were able to establish from data retrieved from his mobile phone that Edun had been regularly installing and uninstalling ‘Kik’ in an apparent attempt to hide his activity online, as communication content is destroyed when the app is removed. Analysis of that data identified that Edun had deleted the ‘Kik’ app in the few seconds between officers gaining entry to his home and seizing his mobile phone, perverting the course of justice.
During police questioning, Edun denied any knowledge of the images or ever using the offending account, saying he had been hacked and had an error with the router provided by his internet service provider. These lies were able to be disproved by the digital forensic expert who gave clear evidence that such activity had not taken place.
Edun was charged in October 2023 and was remanded into custody. He will be sentenced at the same court on Friday, 14 February.
DC Govett added: “The baby at the centre of this investigation has been identified and safeguarded thanks to the excellent work of our colleagues. I’d like to thank them for their support, as well as the Crown Prosecution Service, who have worked diligently to properly present the complexities in this case.
“Safeguarding children is the number one priority of all officers who work in this field and bringing offenders such as Edun to justice is just one way in which we are able to do this.”
