A man shared photographs of women and children on the internet and encouraged others to abduct and rape them, a court has heard.

Philippe Campbell, 45, claimed he was exploring sexual fantasties when he set up a profile in which he included a photo of a real 12-year-old girl who he offered out for sex.

He provided details of her address as well as details of her Facebook page and suggested she could be abducted and raped.

Norwich Crown Court heard Campbell, of Horton Road, King’s Lynn, had in fact been talking to an undercover police officer.

He was arrested and told police about other conversations he had been having online in which details of other children and adults were revealed.

In one chat he pretended to be another person he knew, a woman, stating that he wanted to be raped.

He later tried to explain to police that these were just all sexual fantasies and said none of it would happen.

Campbell stood trial in September last year and was convicted of three counts of facilitating child sex offences and three offences of encouraging the commission of non consensual intercourse.

The offences, committed last year, involved three child and two adult victims.

Duncan O’Donnell, prosecuting, read out statements from some of the victims, including a mother whose 12-year-old daughter was targeted as well as herself.

She said her daughter had been a “happy girl with plenty of friends”.

But she said the victim has been left “scared and shocked” and “cried for hours” after finding out what happened.

The statement described how she “she slept in our room for the first week just to feel safe”.

She said: “We now feel we will have to sell our house and move just to feel safe, it’s that serious.”

The parent of a 13-year-old victim said she was now “afraid to answer the door in her own home”.

They said, unbeknown to the victim, they now followed her to the bus, to make sure she was safe.

The parent of another victim, 14, said she now suffered panic attacks and had become “defensive and withdrawn”.

Sentencing Campbell to an extended 18 year-sentence, made up of 12 years custody and six years on licence, Judge Stephen Holt said it was “hard to think of a more wicked thing to do”.

He said: “These courts are sadly pretty used to hearing such serious and depraved behaviour but even with 40 years experience in the criminal justice system I’m shocked by the facts of your convictions.”

Robert Bryan, for Campbell, said any mitigation was slight given his conviction to the offences.

He said he had expressed remorse and had been a man of previous good character which made his conduct all the more “unexplainable”.

Mr Bryan said Campbell was “apologetic” for having turned other people’s lives upside down.