A teenager posed as a gang member over the internet to threaten younger boys into performing sexual acts has been jailed for five years and four months.
Callum Cooper pressurised nine boys, aged 12 and 13, into sending him pictures of themselves.
Cooper, now 19, of Severn Close, Flitwick, Beds had earlier pleaded guilty to 19 charges of: causing a child aged under 13 to engage in sexual activity, attempting to cause a child to engage in sexual activity and making indecent images of children.
Prosecutor Claire Fraser told Luton Crown Court the offences took place between May 2019 and January 2020 when Cooper was aged 16 and 17.
She said: “He made out he was a gang member to pressurise them into performing sex acts.
“The defendant used threats, intimidation and coercion to get the boys to send him images of themselves.
“As part of the campaign he sent extremely violent videos to them.” These included beheading videos, victims having their tongues cut out and a person being pushed under a train.
He boasted he had been to prison for gang-related activity and told one boy he would kill his family. Another boy was offered £5,000 to send him images.
When he was arrested in January 2020 the police seized two mobile phones and phone indecent images of the victims in the case.
One mother of a 12-year-old victim said: “I was absolutely devastated to see the duress my son was put under. It made him fell he had no option but to do what the person was asking him.”
Defence barrister Flora Page said Cooper was crying when he told her: “Words cannot say how sorry I am.”
She said he had been the victim of domestic violence and sexual abuse, had ADHD and autistic spectrum disorder.
Ms Page went on: “He has been bullied and isolated throughout his schooling. The online world offered a place where he could completely reinvent himself as somebody who is very powerful – the very opposite of how he found himself to be in real life.”
She asked the judge to pass a suspended sentence.
But Judge Lynn Tayton QC jailed him and ordered him to register as a sex offender and abide by the terms of a sexual harm prevention order indefinitely.
DS Graeme Twyford, who led the investigation, said: ‘I am immensely proud that our investigation has been able to secure justice for the victims in this case and their families, as well as putting this sickening individual behind bars for a long time.
“Cooper preyed on vulnerable children and used horrific tactics to scare, groom and intimidate his victims, including playing some of the victims off against one another with threats of violence.”
Investigation Officer Paul Baddeley added: “Working this case through has involved hearing some really traumatic testimony from parents, and I cannot commend them and the victims themselves enough for their bravery.
“Our specialist investigators are dedicated to keeping children safe from sexual predators like Cooper. However, it is a sad reality that these people are out there on popular social media platforms looking for their next victim.
“There is lots of information out there around how to stay safe online, but it is of the utmost importance to talk to your children about these issues, be curious about who they are speaking to online and ensure they have the confidence to come and talk to you if they are worried about something.”
