A 20-year-old man has been jailed for two years after forcing more than 100 girls to self-harm and perform sexual acts online, the National Crime Agency (NCA) has said.
Campaign of abuse
Justin Swaddle, of Meanwood, Leeds, was 17 when he groomed girls across the world on Discord, Telegram and Snapchat, operating under the usernames 'Epstein', 'Rugen' and 'Moscow'.
He was part of a 'Com' group – loose online communities that share extreme graphic material and manipulate victims to allow members to commit sexual and violent child abuse. Members are mainly teenage boys driven by a desire for status, rather than sexual desire or money.
Victims and evidence
Swaddle's devices contained images of victims with self-harm injuries, including his aliases carved into their skin. He communicated with 117 female victims aged 13 to 17, eight of whom were in the UK.
One victim, aged 17, said she met him on Discord in November 2022 before moving to Snapchat, where the conversation became sexual and escalated into discussions of self-harm. Swaddle requested nude images and that she carve his username into her body. He obtained her name, address and school details, and recorded calls where sexual activity took place, sharing them with a group.
Investigation and sentencing
Swaddle was first arrested by West Yorkshire Police in October 2023. The NCA began its investigation in January 2024, uncovering hundreds of conversations. Investigators worked with law enforcement in the USA, Canada, Australia, Norway and New Zealand to safeguard victims.
He admitted two counts of inciting a girl aged 13 to 15 to engage in sexual activity without penetration, inciting a girl aged 13 to 15 to engage in sexual activity with penetration, and blackmail. He also pleaded guilty to making indecent photographs of children in categories A, B and C, possessing an extreme pornographic image, and possessing a prohibited image of a child.
Danielle Pownall, Operations Manager at the NCA, 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.'
