Former X Factor contestant Danny Tetley has been released from prison after being convicted of child sex offences.
Tetley, 44, was sentenced to nine years in prison after admitting to offences involving seven teenage boys, aged between 14 and 16.
A prosecutor said that Tetley had offered his victims ‘hundreds of pounds’ in exchange for sexualised images and videos of themselves.
The months-long period of offending was revealed when a parent of one of the boys looked through his phone after becoming concerned about the amount of money he had.
The singer, who reached The X Factor semi-finals in 2018, admitted seven charges of causing sexual exploitation, as well as two counts relating to the distribution of indecent images.
Tetley has now been released from prison after serving two-thirds of his nine year sentence.
The Ministry of Justice confirmed that Tetley had been released, with a spokesperson telling The Mirror: ‘These were horrific crimes and our thoughts remain with the victims.
‘Offenders whose release is directed by the independent Parole Board are supervised by the Probation Service and are subject to strict conditions, including restrictions on their movements and contact with others.
‘They can be recalled to prison for breaching these conditions or exhibiting behaviour suggesting they pose an increased risk to the public.’
Tetley had originally been handed an extended sentence of 17 years – nine of which he would serve behind bars.
However, that sentence was subsequently cut down to 14 years after appeal.
In a statement, the Criminal Appeal Office confirmed: ‘The full court allowed the appeal and the sentence is now an extended sentence of 14 years, comprising a custodial term of nine years and an extended period of license of five years.’
Tetley previously blamed his offending on the ‘fame he could not cope with.’
Andrew Dallas, defending, told the court that Tetley had been ‘effectively alone in a very public world, emotionally vulnerable and been given money for his singing, all of which is gone.
‘By the time he was locked up, he was penniless. It was easy come, easy go, as the saying goes.’
He added that Tetley’s motivation was solely to gain images of the teenagers and that he had no interest in anything more.
During sentencing at Bradford Crown Court in 2020, presiding judge Jonathan Durham Hall QC described Tetley’s behaviour as ‘highly predatory and manipulative.’
He also said that he had ‘traded’ on his standing as a television star to commit the offences.
Judge Hall said at the time of sentencing: ‘This has been most distressing for the victims.
‘The press are here in force for the extent of gravity of the case, the number of child victims. Your celebrity is now gone, tarnished and destroyed.’
He also said that grooming was at the heart of the case, adding: ‘What you demanded and showed were blatant and the disgusting level to which you sank, Mr Tetley, was quite unbelievable.’