Jacob Ewing, a 44-year-old paedophile from North Carolina, has been sentenced to over seven years in prison for travelling to Wales to “marry” a minor girl he had groomed online.
Jacob Ewing, 44, of Wildcat Pound Road, Hubert, North Carolina, compelled a young girl from the Gwent region of Wales to engage in “degrading” activities on herself and observe him masturbate online.
As the girl, whose identity is protected for legal reasons, approached her 16th birthday, he travelled to the UK to be with her, presenting wedding rings.
He started to exert control over her, oscillating between kindness and hostility, including instructing her not to sleep covered at night, even when she felt cold.
Jacob Ewing was apprehended at Cardiff Airport while in possession of several paedophilic photographs, including one depicting the rape of an infant.
He was moreover in possession of a knife and a wooden club.
On Tuesday, Judge Celia Hughes sentenced Jacob Ewing to seven years and eight months in prison at Newport Crown Court. He had earlier entered a guilty plea to the offences.
He received a sentence for 13 crimes, including the act of causing or persuading a youngster to participate in sexual behaviour.
The court acknowledged that Jacob Ewing may face deportation during his term, but this issue falls under the jurisdiction of the Home Office.
The two met online using a video chat site that connects users randomly, where he told the girl he was a “paedophile hunter” and a Christian.
Jacob Ewing convinced her to let him watch her fall asleep while they were on a livestream, and in the morning told her he had masturbated while she slept.
While she told the police she had been disturbed by this, she kept in contact with the defendant.
She felt overwhelmed. Unfortunately she did not speak to her parents about this. The defendant said he would come to the UK as she was soon to be 16, so they could get married and have children. We know that he brought rings with him when he came to the airport
Over the following months, he began to control her life.
The court heard the girl’s parents did not know who she was speaking to, and she initially told them she was chatting to someone local and of her age.
Judge Hughes said: “He began to control her, being alternately kind and then unpleasant to her, including saying she shouldn’t sleep covered up at night, even when she was cold.
“At one point she saw that the defendant had her initials tattooed on his chest.”
Jacob Ewing also showed her a firearm.
The judge said he “directed her behaviour online” and made her watch him perform sex acts on himself more than 20 times.
“She felt overwhelmed. Unfortunately she did not speak to her parents about this,” she said.
“The defendant said he would come to the UK as she was soon to be 16, so they could get married and have children.
“We know that he brought rings with him when he came to the airport.”
The police were tipped off about Ewing by the US authorities, and the girl’s parents were informed.
You have portrayed yourself as the victim and haven’t taken responsibility for your actions. It is very fortunate that you were stopped at the airport
Judge Hughes said: “A sheath knife and a wooden cosh were found in the defendant’s luggage on arrival at the airport – I really fear to what use the defendant might have put those weapons bearing in mind he was planning to meet a teenage girl he had groomed and controlled.”
The judge said the girl and her family have been “devastated” by Jacob Ewing’s actions.
He had insisted to probation officers that he had “permission” from the girl’s mother to act as he did.
Sentencing Ewing, the judge said: “You have portrayed yourself as the victim and haven’t taken responsibility for your actions.”
She added: “It is very fortunate that you were stopped at the airport.”
Ieuan Bennett, speaking for the prosecution, read out a victim personal statement on behalf of the girl to the court.
I struggle to cope with the stress that Jacob put me under
Personal statement by Jacob Ewing’s victim
She said: “Even when I first started speaking to him, things were odd in the sense that he wanted me to sleep on webcam.
“Over the period we were speaking, this became a daily occurrence, which caused me significant stress.”
She said she began to struggle to sleep unless she was on the webcam and, once he realised that, “he almost used it like a game”.
The victim said Jacob Ewing started controlling what she wore and even now she thinks about how he would respond.
“I struggle to cope with the stress that Jacob put me under. This resulted in a deterioration of my mental health,” she said.
“I regularly felt suicidal due to the way he was treating me.
“Jacob didn’t care about this and encouraged me to kill myself on a number of occasions.
“This confused me – I couldn’t understand why he would tell me he loved me and tell me to hurt myself.”
We’d like to commend the victim in this case, who’s shown strength and great fortitude throughout the investigation and hope that today’s sentence helps in processing and moving forward with her life
Speaking after the sentencing, Detective Superintendent Philip O’Connell, of Gwent Police, said: “Ewing struck up a relationship with a 15-year-old girl online, grooming and exploiting her for over a year before travelling thousands of miles to meet her.
“Working closely with US authorities and UK Border Force, he was detained at Cardiff Airport before being arrested and interviewed by our officers.
“The collaboration between agencies meant Ewing was intercepted before he was able to cause any physical harm to the victim.
“However, his actions, driven by his sexual gratification and the fear he imposed on his victim, will have a profound impact.
“We’d like to commend the victim in this case, who’s shown strength and great fortitude throughout the investigation and hope that today’s sentence helps in processing and moving forward with her life.”
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