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A 'predatory' paedophile living next door to a primary school who directed a man in the US to sexually abuse a toddler while he watched online has been jailed for 20 years.<br>Luke Smith, 53, lived just yards away from the school in West Sussex as he begged the man to commit the horrific acts to a 20-month-old toddler on camera for him.<br>He then moved to a new home sandwiched between two inner-city schools in Portsmouth which are a stone's throw from each other.<br>But the convicted paedophile has been jailed for 20 years after a string of offences including posing as a 20-year-old woman on an online messaging service to convince the unnamed man in the US to sexually abuse his partner's son.<br>Officers from Sussex Police worked alongside the FBI in the US to catch the predator who was committing crimes online while using fake names and a different gender.<br>After raiding his home, they found child porn and chat logs with dozens of requests Smith made for the victim to be abused.  <br>Smith had been living on a street right next to Barnham Primary School in West Sussex.<br>But a few months later, he moved to a road in Portsmouth right next to Mayfield School and round the corner from Cliffdale Primary Academy.  <br>      (image:  )    'Predatory' paedophile Luke Smith (pictured), 53, who was living next door to a primary school, has been jailed for 20 years <br>  RELATED ARTICLES                  Share this article Share          (image:  )    Smith, who directed a man in the US to sexually abuse a toddler while he watched online, was jailed after admitting 13 child sex offences at Portsmouth Crown Court (pictured)<br>Smith admitted 13 child sex offences at Portsmouth Crown Court - nine of which were encouraging the penetrative sexual assault of a child under 13 and four of making indecent images of children.<br>The offences occurred between July 2018 and December 2019.<br>Detective Sergeant David Rose, from Sussex Police, said: 'Luke Smith is a predatory paedophile who thought he could hide by committing his crimes online while pretending to be a different gender and using a fake name.<br>'Although Smith's actions cannot be undone, we hope that his admission of guilt and long custodial sentence will bring some form of closure to the victim and his family.<br>'His actions are amongst the most reprehensible the team have encountered, and I thank them for their strength and professionalism throughout the investigation.<br>'We would also like to place on record our thanks to the FBI for their help and transparency during the investigation.'<br>Smith is now on the sex offenders register for life.<br>