A man who ran multiple online child abuse chat groups has been sentenced, following a National Crime Agency investigation.

Joao-Carlos Jardim Dos Santos Teixeira, 26, from Eastbourne, was a member of three groups on various online messaging platforms dedicated to sharing and discussing child sexual abuse material, including AI generated images.

NCA officers arrested Teixeira at his home in February 2024 and seized a number of devices.

He was found to have participated in several ‘secret chats’ where a mixture of pseudo and prohibited images were shared. These included hyper-realistic AI generated images graded as the most serious, Category A.

Almost 20,000 indecent images of children and prohibited images were identified across his devices including over 1,000 Category A.

Evidence was also found of him encouraging another user to engage in sexual activity with a boy aged 13.

Teixeira was released on bail but was arrested again in November 2025 after he continued to offend online.

He pleaded guilty to all charges in December 2025 at Lewes Crown Court. He was sentenced to 11 years and 4 months at the same location today [17 February 2026].

Upon sentencing, His Honour Judge Mooney said: “What I ask is how you could be so cruel. No sentence I pass will undo the damage you caused but in passing sentence, there must be a significant degree of deterrence.”

NCA Senior Investigating Officer Danielle Pownall said: “Teixeira actively sought out online communities where he could indulge in his predatory desires. He was trying to conceal his online activities whilst looking for likeminded people to engage in child abuse offences.

“The fact he went beyond the digital world and encouraged another user to abuse children shows the threat he poses to society.

“Anyone who thinks they can use the internet to hide their crimes is gravely mistaken. The NCA will continue to hunt down perpetrators of child sexual abuse and bring them to justice.”