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Internet paedophile jailed
09/11/2006 22:43 - (SA)
London - A British court jailed a man on
Thursday who wrested control of the computers of girls as young
as 13 in order to blackmail them for his sexual gratification.
The inner London crown court sentenced 36-year-old Adrian
Ringland from the northern English town of Ilkeston to 10 years
in prison after he pleaded guilty to blackmail, indecency with a
child and grooming, a term used to describe methods paedophiles
use to befriend their victims.
Ringland would pretend to be a teenage boy in internet chat
rooms in order to lure young girls into conversation, said Jenny
Hopkins of the crown prosecution service.
Then he would raid their computers for embarrassing material
he could use to blackmail them into posing for indecent photos.
"Even after he had been arrested and placed on bail for his
initial internet offences, he continued to groom a 13-year-old
girl and then formed a sexual relationship with her," Hopkins
told BBC television. Computer virus
Ringland would send the girls a dummy photo of his teenage
persona containing a hidden computer virus - known as a Trojan
Horse - which allowed him to gain control of their computers.
He would then find potentially embarrassing material on the
computers which he threatened to disclose to the girls' parents
or friends if they refused to pose for explicit photos.
"To demonstrate the control he had over them, he would turn
their monitors on and off, or he would switch their printers on
and off. These girls were terrified," Hopkins said.
Ringland was tracked down and arrested after a victim in
Canada plucked up the courage to report what had happened.
He pleaded guilty to one count of indecency with a child,
three counts of blackmail and six counts of making indecent
photos of children.
He also pleaded guilty to one offence of grooming and six
offences of sexual activity with a girl aged between 13 and 15.
His victims, girls aged between 13 and 16, lived in Britain
and Canada.
- Reuters
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