Man who forced children to self-harm online jailed

A "predatory shark" who forced more than 100 victims, including children, into self-harming and carving his online username onto their bodies has been jailed.

Justin Swaddle also used social media to blackmail his victims and make them engage in sexual activity before an investigation by the National Crime Agency (NCA) led to his arrest.

Swaddle, whose victims were all female and aged between 13 and 17, was part of a secret online community that hides behind legitimate social media to meet and groom victims, the NCA said.

The 20-year-old, from Meanwood, Leeds, admitted a string of sexual abuse and blackmail charges in July and was sentenced to two years in prison at Leeds Crown Court earlier.

He will be subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for 10 years and is required to sign the National Sex Offenders Register

Swaddle was 17 at the time of his offending but the court heard he had a total of 117 victims worldwide, with eight from the UK.

He was first arrested by West Yorkshire Police in October 2023 for offences including possession, making and distribution of indecent images and his devices were subsequently seized and his online presence investigated.

Swaddle was active across Snapchat, Telegram and Discord using usernames including Epstein, Rugen and Moscow and the NCA launched an investigation into him in January 2024.

Officers found hundreds of conversations "of a sexual nature" on his phone including one with a 17-year-old girl who he asked to send him nude pictures and carve his name on her body.

She said Swaddle knew her name, address and school and shared a sexual video she had made with a group before telling her he would send it to more people if she did not provide more.

The NCA said the "Com" groups - the sort Swaddle was part of - have an international membership and use online channels from messaging apps to gaming platforms to commit their crimes.

A spokesperson said: "Offenders and victims are usually in the same groups, and offenders are usually not motivated by money or sexual gratification but by the status and notoriety that comes with sharing shocking content with other members."

Telegram messages also recovered from Swaddle's device showed he had attempted to incite a child to sexually abuse a younger child and record it for him, and indecent images of children as young as three.

Danielle Pownall, operations manager for the NCA, said: "Justin Swaddle targeted young and vulnerable victims all over the world to abuse and scare them into carrying out shocking self-harm and sexual activity, purely to gain popularity with his peers online.

"He gained the trust of his victims, before collecting private information about them so he could threaten to share their intimate images or report them to their school or parents to incite further content."

Swaddle admitted inciting a child into sexual activity, blackmail, making indecent images of children, possessing extreme pornography and possessing prohibited images of children.

Sentencing him, His Honour Judge John Kelson KC called Swaddle a "predatory shark preying on children swimming in the dark waters of the internet".

Pownall added: "While the number of people involved in Com groups are relatively small, the impact it has on victims is high and long-lasting, as Swaddle's offending shows."

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