A SPECIALIST online paedophile investigator told a jury there was no evidence that a former DJ’s electronic devices had been hacked as he faced five child sex abuse charges.

Mark Page is accused of sending money overseas to pay for sex with underage children after Facebook raised concerns about his online activity.

The former match day commentator at Middlesbrough had set up a number of different online accounts with messaging services and an overseas dating agency, Teesside Crown Court heard.

PC Steve Rookes, from Cleveland Police’s Paedophile Online Investigation Team, told the jury that a forensic analysis was carried out on the digital devices seized from the defendant’s Teesside home in January 2020.

The 63-year-old is facing five charges of arranging or facilitating the commission of a child sex offence between August 2016, and April 2019.

Read more: DJ and ex-football club announcer sent cash to the Far East to pay for sex with children​

Page signed up to an online dating agency, Filipino Cupid, before engaging in sexually explicit conversations with a young girl and offering to pay them to perform sex acts.

The jury heard how the defendant had used messaging services to speak directly to an underage girl and he made more than 100 cash transfers to accounts based in the Far East, including the Philippines.

Jo Kidd, prosecuting, asked the officer if there was any evidence that any of Page’s accounts had been hacked.

PC Rookes said: “No, the emails continued to be used on a daily basis. If the emails had been hacked and taken over, you would have some sort of notification or you would be locked out of your account.

“The email consistent with Mark Page using it on a daily basis.”

Miss Kidd asked: “Was there any evidence that his Skype account had been hacked?”

The officer replied: “No.”

The jury heard how Cleveland Police searched through 12-years’ worth of Page’s digital records to find any evidence of child sex abuse using key words ‘young girls’ and ‘young boys’.

Under cross examination from defence barrister Trevor Burke QC, the officer was asked about age verification for the online dating site.

He said: “You need to be 18 to join a website such as this and there are checks when people sign-up. All things being equal, it follows that anyone you meet on the Filippinocupid dating site, would be 18.”

The officer replied: “Yes.”

During re-examination from Ms Kidd, she asked the officer about the age verification on the dating website.

He confirmed that he visited the website on August 17, 2020, and that Mark Page provided an age of ‘52’ on his profile but his date of birth is October 13, 1958 - which would make him 61.

Earlier, the jury heard how Page travelled to the Philippines with the intention of fulfilling his sexual fantasies of sexual abusing young girls and a teenage boy.

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.

Page, of Snowdrop Close, Stockton, denies the charges.

The trial continues.

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