Huckle, 30, from Ashford, Kent, has admitted raping and assaulting 23 children aged between six months and 12 years from 2006 to 2014.

National Crime Agency (NCA) investigators fear he may have abused many more children after they discovered more than 200,000 indecent images of minors on his computer and camera.

At court on Friday, Huckle’s lawyer asked for leniency and read a statement from the defendant, Sky News reports.

“I am open and eager to rehabilitate from this offending behaviour,”the statement read.

“I don’t want to become a martyr to sex tourism in Malaysia. This was all my doing as a consequence of my immaturity and I’m truly remorseful.”

Huckle posted hundreds of the images to the dark web, where he said being a white Englishman meant poor people trusted him. He posed as a Christian philanthropist, photographer and teacher to gain access to children.

Huckle, who was named for the first time on Thursday after reporting restrictions were overturned, was arrested after a tip-off from Australian authorities when he flew into Britain in 2014.

RT