A 19-year-old man has been sentenced to eight years in prison after admitting sexually abusing 37 girls online.
Cory Jones, from Treorchy, in Rhondda Cynon Taf, was jailed at Cardiff Crown Court after pleading guilty to 69 offences, including blackmail, causing a child to engage in sexual activity, and distributing indecent images.
The offences took place between 2022 and 2024 and involved victims aged between 10 and 16.
Judge Jeremy Jenkins said the case “highlights the dangers of children having unsupervised access to social media”.
Jones was also made subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and placed on the Sex Offenders Register for life.
The court heard how Jones would contact the victims and gain their trust before asking them to send explicit photos and videos of themselves.
When some of the children refused further requests, he blackmailed them into sending more sexually explicit images, saying he would publish previously sent images on social media.
He also sent sexual photos and videos of himself to the children.
After his arrest, police found 172 indecent images of children on his phone.
The court heard Jones contacted his victims on the messaging platform Snapchat, sometimes using an alias and lying about his age, and would ask them for nude photographs and videos.
James Wilson, prosecuting, told the court the victims felt “sick”, “betrayed” and “creeped out” when Jones demanded explicit images.
One victim, aged 12 at the time of the offences, said in a statement: “When this first happened to me, it made me feel very nervous and upset.
“I was worried that people would find out what I had done and treat me differently.
“Since telling the police, I’ve had some counselling… I blame myself for everything, really.
“I still find it very hard to talk about.”
Another victim said: “I trusted him and I thought he was my friend.
“He has made me feel stupid for believing everything he said to me.”
John Ryan, defending, urged the judge to consider Jones’s lack of maturity and his age at the time of the offending, which took place between 2022 and 2024, adding that he felt genuine remorse.
‘Corrupted by watching pornography’
Judge Jenkins said he believed Jones, described as socially isolated and “a loner”, had been “corrupted” by watching pornography.
“You have a completely distorted view of loving relationships and matters sexually.”
Det Insp Stuart Prendiville condemned Jones for “deliberately targeting” young women online by “lying about his age and employing manipulative, deceptive tactics”.
“His exploitation of vulnerable children for his own sexual gratification is a stark reminder of the dangers that exist online,” he added.
Det Insp Prendiville expressed sympathy for the victims and hoped the conviction brought them some “measure of comfort and justice”.
He emphasised that such predatory behaviour would “not be tolerated” and urged vigilance in “protecting our children”.
South Wales Police acknowledged the “immense bravery” of the abuse survivors for coming forward and remained committed.
Lisa McCarthy, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “Cory Jones was deceptive and manipulative, coercing children to engage in acts to satisfy his own sexual gratification and blackmailing some by threatening to publish sexually exploitative images on social media when they refused.
“This was a substantial and complex investigation, with the number of child victims quite shocking.”
Source: BBC
