Ethan Mason, then aged 22, originally from Nantwich and now of Hyacinth Court, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment at Chester Crown Court on Wednesday, 9 September, after pleading guilty to blackmailing and exploiting schoolgirls online.
The criminal investigation began in February 2023 when the mother of a 12-year-old girl in Manchester alerted Greater Manchester Police that her daughter was being subjected to predatory communications on Snapchat from a user operating the handle ‘CHESHIREPOLICE1’.
The court heard that Mason used the deceptive profile to issue threats to the 12-year-old child, stating that he would come directly to her residential address if she failed to send him naked photographs of herself.
Fearing for her physical safety, the young victim yielded to the threats and transmitted several indecent images and videos.
Detectives traced the digital footprint of the account to Cheshire, transferring the inquiry to Cheshire Constabulary.
On 14 August 2024, officers executed an entry warrant at Mason’s previous residence on Glover Drive, Willaston.
Mason was arrested at the premises, where searching officers seized multiple mobile devices alongside disturbing items, including several pairs of children’s shoes, a set of police-style handcuffs, and a knife.
During formal police interviews, Mason offered no comment to all inquiries and was granted conditional bail.
While on bail, Mason admitted to a neighbour that he had blackmailed a 14-year-old girl via Snapchat and possessed indecent images of children.
The neighbour subsequently published the disclosure on social media, prompting authorities to relocate Mason to alternative accommodation as inquiries continued.
Digital forensic examinations of Mason’s confiscated mobile phones uncovered 11 Category B and C child abuse images, alongside four Category B videos.
Officers subsequently identified two additional victims, both 14-year-old girls residing in Lancashire.
The investigation revealed Mason had blackmailed one of the teenagers by warning he would publish false allegations across social media claiming she had sexually assaulted him unless she provided explicit photographs.
Mason entered guilty pleas to an extensive eight-count indictment:
- Two counts of making indecent images of children
- Three counts of engaging in sexual communication with a child
- One count of distribution of indecent images of children
- One count of causing a child to engage in sexual activity
- One count of sending a photograph of genitals to cause alarm, distress, or humiliation
The presiding judge sentenced Mason to an immediate custodial sentence of four years (48 months).
In addition to the custodial term, the court issued indefinite restraining orders prohibiting Mason from having any contact with the victims and directed that he comply with the statutory notification requirements of the Sex Offenders Register indefinitely for life.
Release Calculation: Under UK sentencing legislation governing standard determinate custodial sentences, Mason is required to serve one-half (24 months / two years) of his 48-month sentence in prison custody before becoming eligible for automatic statutory release on licence. Upon release, Mason will serve the unserved balance of his term in the community under strict licence supervision by the Probation Service until the expiration of the full four-year period.
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