Jailed: Online predator who blackmailed teens to become his ‘sex slaves’

Jordan Croft, 26, from Worthing, West Sussex, admitted forcing 26 victims aged 12 to 22, most of whom were children, to send photos and videos of them performing sexual and degrading acts on themselves and others.

Croft sought out young girls on online chat platforms with the aim of dominating and controlling them. NCA investigators found that he had been in contact with more than 5,000 people on one platform alone.

He went to great lengths to hide his true identity and avoid detection, using a large number of accounts based on false details and conducting the majority of his offending on encrypted phones and apps, said the NCA.

It added: “After getting the girls to send him a nude ‘custom pic’ of his choosing, he used this to make demands for increasingly depraved and graphic content at all hours of the day, including while they were at school.

“His requests ranged from telling them to send naked images in different poses, filming themselves masturbating while saying his name or pretending to be his sister.”

Croft confessed to having a “toilet kink” and said they had to inform him when they were going to the toilet, then film themselves urinating or defecating. Some were forced to gargle urine and perform enemas on themselves.

NCA officers arrested Croft in September 2019, after identifying him as the man behind various usernames, which featured in reports of online abuse filed by a number of police forces in England. This offending dated back to April 2018.

Numerous devices, including Croft’s two mobile phones and a USB stick, were seized for analysis, which led to the NCA uncovering the full extent of his offending, including a further 19 victims.

Both phones had an encrypted side to them, which was where the messaging applications were stored. Here, Croft had saved the abuse material his victims sent him, tagged with their names and ages, along with a list of their social media followers.

Further indecent images of children (IIOC) were found on the USB stick which also contained a portable operating system. When plugged in to a computer, the system would ensure nothing was written to the computer’s hard disk and all trace of activity was deleted.

Investigators linked him to 20 online profiles across four different messaging platforms.

Chat logs showed that in many cases, Croft initially pretended to be a teenage boy in order to befriend his victims. He then set a list of rules they had to adhere to, which included moving their conversation to encrypted platform Telegram and sending any photos or videos he asked for.

Once content they were going to follow his rules, he revealed his true age and admitted to being a “catfish” and a “pedo [sic] into girls 12-14”.

Many were forced to film themselves verbally confirming that they were entering into his “contract of sexual slavery”.

If the girls did not comply or asked to be released from the contract, he would set punishments and threaten to expose them to their family or social media followers.

He also told them he had a degree in cyber security and had masked his online identity so he could not be traced by law enforcement.

Croft was charged in June 2022 with 65 offences following authorisation by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

The charges include multiple counts of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, blackmail, making unwarranted demands for IIOC, intentionally causing or inciting the sexual exploitation of a child, and making more than 900 IIOC in categories A-C.

He pleaded guilty to all charges and at Lewes Crown Court on Friday (November 11) was sentenced to 18 years in prison, and a further eight years on licence. He will also be placed on the sex offenders’ register for life, and will be subject to an indefinite sexual harm prevention order and a restraining order preventing him from contacting his victims.

Jeanette Smith of the CPS said: “The young girls targeted by Croft had no rest from his perverse barrage of messages and felt they had no choice but to comply with his increasingly depraved requests.

“From the extensive evidence seized from his devices, it is clear Croft revelled in the control he had over these young victims and showed no concern for the impact his actions were having.

“He made attempts to hide his actions using encryption and platforms he thought were safe from detection, but we were still able to bring him to justice and I hope today’s result sends a clear message to other offenders.

“Our Organised Child Sexual Abuse Unit was set up earlier this year to prosecute child sexual abuse like this, and help stop its devastating impact on victims.”

Martin Ludlow, senior investigating officer at the NCA, said: “Jordan Croft is a prolific offender who has caused heart-breaking suffering to many victims and their families.

“The sexual depravity he consistently displayed during this abuse of both young female children and adults is horrific.

“Like many offenders Croft thrived on the power he was able to exert over the victims. He sought the feeling of control and obtained it by deceit and abuse.

“He showed no compassion for the victims, pushing them to breaking point and issuing threats, even when they begged him to stop.

“I commend these young women who have shown such bravery in speaking out against him.

“Croft is an example of an adult sexual offender who deploys plausible online profiles to hide their real identity and exploit children.

“We know children are increasingly sharing personal material on social media sites, but I urge them be aware of the hurt and long-term damage manipulative offenders like Croft cause, and to think carefully about who they may be communicating with online.

“The NCA will continue to pursue the most serious offenders, including those who believe they can hide behind the anonymity of the internet to abuse children. Like Croft they will be brought to justice.”

The Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) says a record amount of online child sexual abuse content is currently being blocked.

There are currently 24,649 web addresses on the IWF’s URL List – more than have ever been included before. Each URL can contain from one to thousands of images of children, sometimes as young as babies, being raped and tortured, says the IWF.

This is considerably more URLs than are usually included on the list. In 2021, the list contained an average of 5,526 URLs. So far in 2022, the average number of URLs on the list is 10,255.

The dynamic URL List, which is updated twice a day, is list of webpages the IWF has confirmed contain images and videos of child sexual abuse.

All IWF members can use this list to block access to these criminal webpages and importantly, stop the children in the images being revictimised every time an abuser tries to find them

The URLs on the list are blocked from being accessed until they can be safely removed from the internet. The IWF works with technology companies, hotlines around the world and law enforcement where appropriate, to have illegal content removed quickly.

Once criminal content has been removed from the internet, the URL will be removed from the list.

“Blocking the webpages prevents criminals from profiting from the sharing of child sexual abuse material – and also stops ordinary internet users from accidentally stumbling across criminal material which can be very traumatic to see,” said the IWF.

“In some cases, entire sites are listed for blocking as they are dedicated to child sexual abuse imagery.”

WF chief executive Susie Hargreaves OBE said: “We have never had as many URLs on our list. It is testament to the hard work and diligence of our hotline analysts – but a reminder that there is so much of this material out there.

“Platforms are working hard to minimise the availability of child sexual abuse material online, and our URL List is proving a vital tool in the battle to defend both survivors of abuse, children and all internet users online.

“The children in these videos and images are real children. They are being subjected to sexual abuse and rape – and their suffering is real. Stopping access to this material is vital in preventing this content from being available online.”

The increased number of URLs on the IWF’s list comes as the Government’s flagship Online Safety Bill suffers further delays in Parliament. The legislation had been due to return to the Commons on November 2, but has been dropped, with no date yet set for its return.

Ms Hargreaves said it is important for the Bill to return to Parliament as soon as possible.

She said: “This legislation was supposed to make the UK the safest place in the world to go online. That was the intention. For a while, we led the world with the vision for our online regulation.

“But now we are falling behind. It is imperative we do not lose focus here. No one should forget the victims here are children, and they need protection now. They must not be made to wait.

“If this legislation does not get back on track soon, there is a real danger Parliamentary time will run out. The internet is not always safe for everyone, and we do need government now to make sure passing this legislation is kept a priority.”