AN ex-Radio 1 DJ and former football club announcer has been found guilty of child sex offences.

Mark Page was accused of paying young girls in the Philippines for sex and carrying out sex acts over the internet after Facebook raised concerns about his online activities.

The 63-year-old had vehemently denied the charges throughout his trial at Teesside Crown Court.

He was adamant that he had not sent a number of sexually explicit messages over an eight-day period and said he believed that his online accounts had been hacked.

Today, the jury found him guilty of four charges and cleared him of one following four hours of deliberation (Wednesday, March 9).

The court had heard how Page was in the Philippines in October 2016 and sent a number of text messages arranging to meet up with the young girl for sex.

In a series of explicit messages before his arrival and after he stayed at a hotel in the Makati area, Page is alleged to have asked the girl to arrange for him to have sex with a 12-year-old girl and a 13-year-old boy when he visited the Philippines.

The prosecution alleged that Page made 164 money transfers to the Far East between 2011 and 2016 and these were to pay for sexual favours.

The veteran broadcaster told jurors how he lost his job with Middlesbrough Football Club as soon as they were made aware of the charges he was facing following his arrest in January 2020.

During the trial, orensic analysis of his internet history showed details of numerous online conversations Page had made with the underage girl and revealed details of payments made using his credit card to accounts in the Far East.

Jo Kidd, prosecuting, said: "The Prosecution case is that Mark Page arranged to contact and meet children in the Philippines and the purpose of the communication was to arrange to carry out child sex offences over web cams and also when he travelled to the Philippines.

"He used charity as a cover to meet up with underage people in order to meet them for sex."

The jury heard how Page was in the Philippines in October 2016 and sent a number of text messages arranging to meet up with the young girl for sex.

In a series of explicit messages before his arrival and after he stayed at a hotel in the Makati area, Page asked the girl to arrange for him to have sex with a 12-year-old girl and a 13-year-old boy.

Ms Kidd said payments made from Page’s credit card showed the cash had been sent to an account based in the Philippines.

Page, of Snowdrop Close, Stockton, denied five charges of arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sex offence between August 2016, and April 2019.

He was remanded in custody and will be sentenced in the morning.

Speaking after the convictions, Oriana Frame, of CPS North East, said: “The actions Mark Page took to contact and make arrangements for the sexual abuse of children show that he is a dangerous predator. He believed hiding behind fake accounts protected him from the discovery of his heinous crimes.

“We hope that the convictions against him today serve as a warning to any others attempting to arrange the sexual abuse of children online. There is always a digital trace of your actions and, where such evidence is discovered, we will work closely with police to robustly prosecute those involved.”

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