A Facebook user, Paul Leighton, has been jailed for rape thousands of miles away.
The 32-year-old man from Seaham, County Durham in the UK reportedly created up to 40 fake Facebook profiles to befriend teenagers in the UK, Canada, the US and Australia, tricked them into sending him naked selfies, then blackmailed them into abusing their young relatives.
He had earlier admitted to a total of 21 offenses at Newcastle Crown Court. The court heard one 14-year-old from Florida was tricked into believing he was talking to a girl, then blackmailed into repeatedly raping his one-year-old niece.
Leighton is said to have threatened the teenager he would post videos of the abuse online if he did not do more, as of now, the boy is said to be charged by US authorities.
Leighton himself has been sentenced to 16 years with a six-year extended license with the judge describing the acts as having “effectively destroyed the lives of these people.”
Leighton was “clearly dangerous” and posed a risk to children in the UK and abroad- Judge
The judge also said Leighton was “clearly dangerous” and posed a risk to children in the UK and abroad as he had also successfully blackmailed two British teenage girls and also sexually abused a nine-year-old girl living in the north-east of England, the court was told.
According to reports, the FBI is investigating other victims who may have been targeted and had found evidence that as many as 100 children in North America had been abused when examining his phone.
Leighton admitted to three counts of rape as well as other offenses, including blackmail, causing a child to engage in sexual activity, making indecent photographs of a child and sexual assault.
The defendant has pleaded guilty to the rape of this baby 4,000 miles away as he was using (the uncle) as an accessory- Paul Reid
Speaking on behalf of the prosecutor, on the Florida teenager and his niece, Paul Reid said; “This was a campaign of rape. The defendant has pleaded guilty to the rape of this baby 4,000 miles away as he was using (the uncle) as an accessory.”
The accused Leighton was also reported to be “a cannabis user and had pleaded guilty at the first opportunity. He protests it was not for sexual gratification but because it gave him a feeling of power to exercise the utmost control over other individuals.” Paul added.
The growth of cyber bullying, as well as sexual assault through the internet, has grown over the years and although one can not overlook the positivity in social media/ networking, the dangers that children are exposed to seems to be on the rise. Could this owe to parents paying little or no attention to what kids do or are exposed to online, monitoring what users are up to on their private profiles or does this pose a stricter age restriction clause for signing up to internet apps?
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