Man who paid thousands of pounds for children to be abused in the Philippines jailed

A man who sent large amounts of money to paedophiles in the Philippines and encouraged them to sexually abuse children has been jailed for 26 years.

Patrick Lee Howlett, 58, of Canterbury, sent money from himself and others to abusers overseas to mistreat young children, including members of their own family, and capture images of the abuse. He was found to be in possession of thousands of illegal images.

Howlett, was prosecuted by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) following an investigation by the National Crime Agency (NCA).

Between 2015 – 2021, Howlett encouraged and facilitated child abuse in the Philippines. His criminal activity first came to light during an investigation by Danish authorities into a convicted paedophile who was found to be sending money abroad via Howlett.

As well as facilitating payments from others, Howlett also sent over £55,000 abroad to obtain indecent imagery for his own sexual gratification.

Following his arrest in 2021, several devices belonging to Howlett were seized and found to contain over 14,000 indecent images and videos of children.  

Howlett pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to ten offences related to making and possession of indecent images of children but claimed that he had no interest in child pornography, and that material found on his devices was there because others had sent this to him unsolicited.

He claimed that he was passing money to people in the Philippines who he knew were involved in child sexual exploitation, so that they could stop their financially motivated abuse.

Despite Howlett’s claims that he was not involved in child sexual exploitation, the CPS was able to advise the NCA at an early stage and build a strong case to disprove this. The evidence used against him was the magnitude of indecent images on Howlett’s numerous personal devices, nearly a thousand of which were category A - the most serious type of child abuse - as well as graphic conversations.

Howlett's financial records were also used as evidence showing multiple payments, sent to those with whom he was discussing the abuse of children, as well as passing on payments from other paedophiles to the abusers.

In January 2025 after his trial at Canterbury Crown Court had started, Howlett pleaded guilty to all the remaining charges relating to facilitation of child sexual abuse in the Philippines and encouraging others to distribute indecent images of children.

Howlett was jailed today for 26 years, with an additional four years on extended licence. The judge also ruled that Howlett be subject to an indefinite sexual harm prevention order, which prevents him from contacting children under 16.

Julia McSorley, Specialist Prosecutor for the CPS’ Organised Child Sexual Abuse Unit, said: "Patrick Howlett is a prolific paedophile who paid tens of thousands of pounds to encourage others to abuse vulnerable children in the Philippines to satisfy his own desires. Those children were the victims of horrific sexual abuse at his instigation.

"Despite Howlett’s attempts to disguise his offending and his claims to be involved in charitable work, painstaking investigation from the NCA, in collaboration with the Organised Child Sexual Abuse Unit in the CPS, built a picture of his crimes that was very difficult to deny.

“The fact that he encouraged individuals to abuse their own family members is particularly disturbing. Thankfully those children involved have been safeguarded and removed from the homes where this abuse took place.

“I hope this conviction sends a clear message that the CPS, working with law enforcement in the UK and abroad, will relentlessly pursue justice and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, wherever that abuse has taken place.”

Adam Priestley, Unit Head of CSA investigations at the NCA, said: “Patrick Howlett is a dangerous paedophile who has offended for many years, systematically identifying and exploiting vulnerable children in the Philippines and paying thousands of pounds for them to be sexually abused by those who should be protecting them.  

“The NCA will continue to pursue men like Howlett who pose a significant sexual risk to children and fuel the continued abuse of these children as a way for their families to make money, as well as pursue justice for victims of abhorrent crimes like this.

“Our work with law enforcement in the Philippines will continue to ensure criminals sexually abusing children are brought to justice, irrespective of where they or their victims are, and to identify facilitators in the Philippines so children being subjected to these traumatic crimes can be identified and protected. Sexual abuse of children, whatever the motivation, will not be tolerated.”

Derek Ray-Hill, Interim CEO of the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), the UK’s front line against online child sexual abuse imagery, said: "Child sexual abuse is a crime that crosses borders, with the internet allowing predators to exploit vulnerable children remotely and fuel a global industry.

"The demand for child sexual abuse material is built on the abuse of real children. This cruelty can leave them with lifelong trauma.

"In 2024 alone, we identified and removed a record amount of child sexual abuse imagery from the internet, with ongoing work to ensure such material is swiftly removed and blocked from future upload.

To deal with some of the more complex and challenging child sexual abuse cases, the CPS has a dedicated Organised Child Sexual Abuse Unit to share specialist understanding, build strong cases and increase the amount of successful prosecutions.