Sexual abuser posed as teenage girls on Facebook to blackmail boys

A man who posed as teenage girls on Facebook and blackmailed 51 boys into sending him indecent images of themselves, siblings and friends has admitted sexual abuse offences.

David Wilson, 36, of Kirstead, King's Lynn, Norfolk, pleaded guilty to 96 offences at Ipswich Crown Court.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) said he approached his victims online and blackmailed them into sending him explicit photos and videos.

He is due to be sentenced in January.

The NCA said Wilson's victims were aged between four and 14 and his crimes took place between 2016 and 2020.

They said he built up trust by sending sexual images of young women in exchange for photographs and videos of his victims.

The NCA said he then blackmailed the boys into sending him more extreme footage - in some cases of them abusing younger siblings or friends - and threatened to post indecent images of them online if they did not comply.

The agency said he distributed images to some of his victims' friends, despite them begging him to stop, and some children spoke of wanting to end their lives as a result.

Officers began to compile intelligence on Wilson after Facebook identified 20 accounts of boys ranging from 12 to 15 years old, who had sent images of themselves to an account seemingly belonging to a 13-year-old girl.

The charges included causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, causing a child to watch a sexual act and arranging or facilitating the sexual exploitation of a child.

He also admitted making unwarranted demands for indecent images of a child with menace.

Judge Rupert Overbury told the labourer he faced "an extended sentence", but said he would "listen to everything put before me very carefully".

Wilson was remanded in custody until his sentencing on 12 January.

Find BBC News: East of England on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. If you have a story suggestion email [email protected]