Andrew and Lara Boyd depravity was fuelled by huge amounts of cocaine and alcohol
Lara Boyd and Andrew Boyd(Image: GMP)
A couple fuelled by alcohol and drugs secretly photographed and filmed an underage child as part of their depraved “sexual appetite”. Andrew and Lara Boyd appeared to the outside world to be a “middle-aged couple working hard in their employment”.
But they were also taking “enormous” amounts of cocaine and drinking “gallons” of booze. Disgusting messages unearthed from WhatsApp chats showed them as they “titillated themselves” and secretly took images of a child they had a “sexual interest” in.
Minshull Street Crown Court heard officers were alerted to an indecent image of a child from Andrew Boyd’s IP address. Police attended the couple’s home and he was arrested. Electronic devices – including an iPad, iPhone, PlayStation 4 and laptop – were seized.
Andrew admitted he had spoken to people on the messaging app Kik on “topics of a sexual nature”, but denied sharing images of children.
Officers uncovered indecent images of a child “clearly taken without any form of knowledge or consent”.
WhatsApp messages showed the child was the subject of their “sexual appetite”. The images were only shared between the pair, who were both later arrested.
The Manchester Evening News reported that the child penned a statement saying the Boyds, of Tameside in Greater Manchester, would “never fully know the effects” the ordeal has had on them. They said they have “recurring nightmares”. Andrew Boyd sat staring at the floor while his wife sobbed.
Andrew Boyd, 41, earlier pleaded guilty to voyeurism; publishing an obscene article; two counts of making indecent images of children; two counts of distributing indecent images of children; and possession of an extreme pornographic image.
Lara Boyd, 40, admitted voyeurism; publishing an obscene article; and two counts of making indecent images of children.
Saul Brody, representing Andrew Boyd, said he “sank into the mire of alcohol and drug fuelled depravity”.
Mr Brody said “disinhibited” by booze and cocaine, his client began accessing pornography, which led to an “unhealthy interest in more taboo and extreme areas”.
He described the messages between the couple as “revolting”. Mr Brody said Andrew Boyd was now sober and a “very different person”.
Ellie Akhgar, for Lara Boyd, said her client was “thoroughly ashamed”, adding: “She knows this is quite the fall from grace. The commission of these offences are, and will be, the greatest regret of her life, and she accepts they should be.”
Lara Boyd has stopped taking drugs and now “rarely” drinks. The couple’s relationship is “complex”, the court heard. Ms Akhgar said Lara had been “subject to bouts of domestic violence at the hands of Andrew”. They are still together.
Judge Tina Landale said it was an “extremely serious” case and that the impact on the victim has been “severe”. The Boyds were both jailed for two years.