A teenager has been jailed for eight years after admitting to sexually abusing 37 girls online in a campaign of abuse.
Cory Jones, 19, was sentenced at Cardiff Crown Court after pleading guilty to 69 offences, including blackmail, causing a child to engage in sexual activity and distributing indecent images.
Judge Jeremy Jenkins said he believed Jones, described as a socially isolated ‘loner’ who had been ‘corrupted’ by pornography.
Jones contacted 37 children aged between 10 and 16, gaining their trust before asking them to send explicit photos and videos of themselves, over two years.
When some of the children refused further requests, he blackmailed them into sending more sexually explicit images, saying he would publish previously sent images on social media.
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Jones, of Ynyswen, Rhondda Cynon Taf, also sent sexual photos and videos of himself to the children.
After his arrest, there were 172 indecent images of children found on his phone. The court heard Jones contacted his victims on the messaging platform Snapchat, sometimes using an alias and lying about his age, and would ask them for nude photographs and videos.
James Wilson, prosecuting, told the court the victims felt ‘sick’, ‘betrayed’ and ‘creeped out’ by his demands.
One victim, aged 12 at the time of the offences, said in a statement: ‘When this first happened to me, it made me feel very nervous and upset. I was worried that people would find out what I had done and treat me differently.
‘Since telling the police, I’ve had some counselling… I blame myself for everything, really. I still find it very hard to talk about.’
Another victim said: ‘I trusted him and I thought he was my friend. He has made me feel stupid for believing everything he said to me.’
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The NSPCC have been looking out for children for 140 years
If you are worried about a child you can contact the NSPCC helpline on 0808 800 5000 or by email at help@NSPCC.org.uk
Children can call the NSPC’s Childline for free on 0800 1111, send an email, or live chat with a counsellor
The NSPCC is there to help children being abused – whether by an adult or another child. The abuse can be physical, sexual or emotional, and can happen on or offline.
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John Ryan, defending, urged the judge to consider Jones’s lack of maturity and his age at the time of the offending, which took place between 2022 and 2024, adding that he feels genuine remorse.
Sentencing Jones, Judge Jenkins said: ‘The effect on those individuals and their families was devastating and the harm that you caused them will remain, I’m quite sure, for many years to come.
‘If ever there was a case that highlights the dangers of children having unsupervised access to social media, then surely this is it. Each was vulnerable, impressionable and naive. You took full advantage and exploited them for your own sexual gratification.
‘I have no doubt in my mind that you have been corrupted by watching pornography. You have a completely distorted view of loving relationships and matters sexually.’
Jones was sentenced to eight years in jail and will serve a minimum of five years and four months before being released.
He will also be on the sex offenders’ register for life.
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