Justin Swaddle, aged 20, of Meanwood, Leeds, West Yorkshire, was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment after being convicted of running an extensive online child sexual exploitation and extortion network.
The court heard that Swaddle operated within online “Com” groups, where members share graphic material and coerce victims to gain status. Using the pseudonyms “Epstein”, “Rugen”, and “Moscow” across Discord, Telegram, and Snapchat, Swaddle communicated with 117 female victims aged between 13 and 17 located across the world, including eight victims in the UK.
Swaddle groomed victims before gathering their names, home addresses, and school details. He then used extortion and threats of distributing intimate media to parents and schools to force victims into carrying out sexual acts and severe self-harm, including carving his aliases into their skin.
In one instance that began on Discord in November 2022, Swaddle obtained a victim’s personal details, shared recorded footage of sexual activity with a chat group, and demanded further explicit material. Telegram records additionally demonstrated that Swaddle attempted to compel a child to sexually abuse another child on video under threat of exposure.
The National Crime Agency (NCA) launched an investigation, arresting Swaddle and seizing his digital equipment. Forensic examinations revealed indecent images of children rated at Category A and Category C, featuring victims aged between 3 and 17.
Appearing for sentence, Swaddle was convicted of child sexual exploitation and abuse offences.
The presiding judge handed Swaddle a total custodial sentence of two years.
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