'Landmark' case sees Hampshire teenager sentenced after targeting teenage girls online to self-harm
Landmark case sees Hampshire teen sentenced for encouraging girls to self-harm online
A 16-year-old boy has been sentenced after targeting teenage girls online and encouraging them to hurt themselves in a “self-harm campaign” that lasted more than a year, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said.
The defendant, from the Winchester area who cannot be named for legal reasons, was aged 14 at the time of the offences. He instructed his victims – primarily teenage girls – to carve his online username into their bodies and send him images which he saved, according to the CPS.
He pleaded guilty to encouraging self-harm earlier this year, and was later convicted of downloading indecent images of children following a trial at Southampton Youth Court. It is the first time that Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary have prosecuted someone for assisting or encouraging self-harm under the Online Safety Act 2023.
He was sentenced on Monday to an 18-month Youth Rehabilitation Order, with requirements forbidding him from accessing Discord, Telegram, and any other browsers to access the dark web, the CPS said.
The teenager is also banned from accessing other social media platforms unless supervised by an adult or for educational purposes, and will not be allowed to access devices after 10pm. Officers also seized an Xbox from his address after he used the console to access the accounts linked to his offences while on bail.
Senior prosecutor Lauren McConnell said: “This defendant deliberately hid behind an online identity to manipulate and harm vulnerable people. The prosecution proved that he encouraged others into self‑harm over a 16-month period, whilst also downloading indecent images of children, causing serious harm through his online abuse.
“This case underlines that crimes committed online can be just as damaging as those committed offline, and the CPS will not hesitate to prosecute those who misuse the internet to exploit and harm others.”
Officers found evidence of indecent images on his various devices that were seized during a warrant in May 2024. These included images of children as young as 13 causing serious injuries to themselves. Due to the cropped nature of the images found, it was not possible to establish how many victims there were, but investigators believe there were at least a dozen.
Detective Chief Inspector Matt Watson, of the Internet Child Abuse Team, said: “Firstly, I want to thank my team who built a comprehensive and compelling case that resulted in him admitting the charge and being found guilty of making and distributing indecent images.
“This is a landmark case for our force, and the investigation involved painstaking work looking through multiple devices to identify offences.
“This case also highlights the importance of online safety. Be wary of online predators, they may act like they are your friend in order to develop a close relationship but will often do this as a means to obtain private information and intimate images from you. Once they have this they will blackmail you into carrying out harmful behaviour such as the self-harm seen in this case.”
“Safeguarding vulnerable people is a priority for Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary, and we continue to work closely with partner agencies to provide support, prevent harm wherever possible and relentlessly pursue anybody who seeks to target vulnerable people online.
“If you have thoughts of suicide or self-harm, help is out there. Whatever you are going through, you don’t have to face it alone.”
Emma Hardy, Communications Director at the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) said: “Each image or video of child sexual abuse is an image or a video of a crime scene. They are a child’s suffering and exploitation frozen in time.
“This imagery, which the IWF works to remove from the internet every day, is of real children, and they are made victims all over again every time that imagery is viewed or shared. Just knowing that imagery is still out there, being seen by strangers, can be a huge psychological burden to survivors, even years after the sexual abuse itself took place.
“We encourage anyone who suspects they have seen child sexual abuse imagery online to report it securely and confidentially via our online portal. Children and young people can self-report nude or sexual imagery of themselves via the Report Remove helpline if they suspect it has been shared, or may be shared, online. Our analysts will work to make sure child sexual abuse imagery is removed from the internet.”
Police advice members of the public can report suspected child sexual abuse imagery online to https://www.iwf.org.uk/en/uk-report/
Under 18s in the UK can also report imagery of themselves which has been shared, or may be at risk of being shared, online to Report Remove here https://www.childline.org.uk/info-advice/bullying-abuse-safety/online-mobile-safety/report-remove/