A 20-year-old man who abused more than 100 young girls online, forcing some to carve his name into their skin, has been jailed for two years.
Justin Swaddle, from Leeds, used various digital aliases to target victims as young as 13, coercing them into sexual activity and self-harm. He also possessed numerous indecent images of children, including some showing victims aged three.
Com group involvement
Swaddle was part of the so-called Com internet group, a digital community where offenders collaborate and boast about their abuse. The National Crime Agency (NCA) described Com as an international network using messaging apps and gaming platforms to target victims.
In total, police identified 117 female victims worldwide, including eight in the UK, aged between 13 and 17.
Victim testimony
One 17-year-old victim said she met Swaddle on Discord in November 2022 before moving to Snapchat, where conversations turned sexual and involved self-harm. He requested nude images and told her to carve his username into her body, threatening to share intimate images if she refused.
Sentencing
Swaddle pleaded guilty to several child sexual abuse offences and blackmail at Leeds Crown Court on July 2. He was sentenced on August 10 to two years in prison, a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order, and must sign the sex offenders register.
Judge Kelson KC described Swaddle as “a predatory shark preying on children swimming in the dark waters of the internet”, adding it was “one of the more extreme cases” he had seen.
Danielle Pownall, NCA operations manager, said: “Justin Swaddle targeted young and vulnerable victims all over the world to abuse and scare them into carrying out shocking self-harm and sexual activity, purely to gain popularity with his peers online.
“He gained the trust of his victims, before collecting private information about them so he could threaten to share their intimate images or report them to their school or parents to incite further content.
“While the number of people involved in Com groups are relatively small, the impact it has on victims is high and long-lasting, as Swaddle’s offending shows.
“We are extremely grateful for the assistance of West Yorkshire Police, our international partners and specialist prosecutors at the CPS in bringing a dangerous offender to justice.
“The NCA is coordinating the response to Com groups in the UK, working with a range of law enforcement, health and safeguarding partners to better understand pathways into offending and identify opportunities for prevention and intervention.”
