American teenager is sentenced to 50 years in jail for raping a toddler after he was groomed online by predatory British pedophile 4,500miles away who has also been sentenced to 18 years after social media company tipped off police

An 18-year-old Arkansas man will serve 50 years in prison for raping a toddler after he was groomed online by predatory pedophile living 4,500 miles away.

Nicholas Hatton, of Crewe, England, coerced the teen into sexually abusing a two-year-old on camera after grooming him from the age of 12, Britain's Chester Crown Court heard.

The teen, one of Hatton's four victims, confessed to the assault and was later convicted of rape and sexual assault. He was sentenced on February 8 this year at Howard County Circuit Court, police told DailyMail.com.

Hatton, 34, was handed an 18-year jail term in the UK on Tuesday. He previously pleaded guilty to a litany of sexual offences after having been found with a collection of more than 12,000 child abuse images.

In addition to his prison sentence, Hatton was also ordered to sign the sex offenders register for life and handed an indefinite sexual harm prevention order. 

DO YOU KNOW MORE ABOUT THIS CASE? EMAIL [email protected]

Nicholas Hatton, 34, (pictured) of Crewe, England, was sentenced Tuesday to 18 years for his role in grooming an Arkansas teen and coercing him to rape a two-year-old on camera

The teen, one of Hatton's four victims, confessed to the assault and was later convicted of rape and sexual assault. . He was sentenced on February 8 this year at Howard County Circuit Court, (pictured) police told DailyMail.com

Chester Crown Court heard that the Arkansas teen was one of Hatton's four victims. Detectives were able to identify two of them, who were both based in America.

The investigation into Hatton was launched in 2021 when officers from Cheshire Police received intelligence from a social media company in relation to his online activity.

A warrant was carried out at his home in Crewe where a number of electronic devices were seized and sent for analysis.

During examination of the devices, officers recovered more than 12,000 indecent images of children and 750 indecent videos, as well as 1,050 prohibited images.

Following the discovery, Hatton was rearrested in June 2022.

During questioning he denied all knowledge of who the children in the images were.

He was then released on conditional bail. It was at this point that a Cheshire Police Victim Identification Officer identified the two US-based victims.

Hatton was subsequently charged and later pleaded guilty to all of the offences.

He was charged with six counts of causing or inciting a boy under 13 to engage in sexual activity; two counts of causing or inciting the sexual exploitation of a child aged 13 to 17 and one count of possession of indecent images of children.

Hatton also pleaded guilty to three counts of making indecent images of children, three counts of taking indecent images of children and one count of possession of prohibited images of children.

Following his sentencing, Detective Constable Faye Taylor, of the Online Child Abuse Investigation Team at Cheshire Police, said: 'This has been a complex and lengthy investigation which ultimately uncovered Hatton's despicable behavior.

Chester Crown Court (pictured) heard the Arkansas teen, who had been in contact with Hatton for several years from 2014, told officers that he had been coerced into sexually abusing the two-year-old on camera

'It was apparent throughout the investigation that Hatton is a sexual predator who preyed on vulnerable young boys and had no regard for the effects his actions would have on the victims or their families.

'Due to the grooming that he suffered as a child, one of Hatton's victim in America has been handed a lengthy prison sentence, while [the toddler] suffered sustained sexual abuse.

'While none of the victims will ever be able to forget what happened to them, I hope that Hatton's conviction and the sentence handed to him will provide them with some closure.

'I also hope that Hatton's conviction will act as a reminder that there are no borders when it comes to sexual abuse, it can happen anywhere at any time and the impact can be lifechanging.'

DailyMail.com has approached Howard County Circuit Court for more information.