Rapper jailed for 15 years for filming himself sexually abusing toddler

A grime artist whose music has featured on Coronation Street and Radio 1 has been jailed after he admitted sexually abusing a toddler.

Rapper MistaKay, real name Kieran Cunliffe, live-streamed the abuse online in the US, a court heard.

Cunliffe, also known as Kieran McGowan, was jailed for 15 years on Friday and handed an indefinite sexual harm prevention order by Sheffield Crown Court.

The court heard an undercover officer with US Homeland Security came across a website and chat group in which a man had sent videos of abuse.

There was also "concerning intelligence" that suggested abuse was being live-streamed onto a chat room, police said.

Homeland Security alerted police in the UK and the IP address was traced to a property in Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Cunliffe was arrested by later that day.

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When he was interviewed the 25-year-old denied any involvement and answered no comment. He initially denied the charges but later changed his plea to guilty.

Cunliffe admitted six counts of sexual assault of a child under 13, two counts of taking indecent images of a child and two counts of distributing indecent images of children.

The charges relate to one victim and were committed around 6 October in Doncaster.

The rapper, whose music has been played on BBC Radio 1 and 1Xtra, boasted about one of his tracks being played during a recent episode of Coronation Street.

Cunliffe also claims to have had involvement in campaigns for Adidas, Oasis Drinks, Lipton Ice Tea, Red Bull and Derby County FC.

His most recent single, released in September this year, was titled Where I Came From.

He will serve a minimum of 10 years in prison and will have to sign the sex offenders register for life.

Detective Constable Helen Cobley, of South Yorkshire Police, said: “Cunliffe’s abuse of a vulnerable child is absolutely appalling and it is only right that he receives a custodial sentence for his crimes.

“We had to act fast upon receiving the information someone was possibly live-streaming horrific abuse, and we were able to secure a warrant for Cunliffe’s arrest and property searches quickly.

“He is a dangerous individual who poses a significant risk to children and I hope the community are reassured by the swift action taken to apprehend Cunliffe and charge him with multiple child sexual offences.

“While he did plead guilty to these horrific offences and accept responsibility for his crimes, this will do little to repair the harm and trauma caused to his victim.

"The impact of sexual abuse on victims and their families can be devastating, and to commit such atrocious offences against a child is inexcusable.

“We’re absolutely committed to bringing shameless offenders like Cunliffe to justice, his crimes have had a significant impact on his victim, and I truly hope that they are able to recover from this traumatic time in their life knowing that he is now behind bars.”

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