ANTHONY "DANNY" BURNS FROM SUFFOLK SENTENCED FOR GLOBAL ONLINE SEXUAL OFFENSES AND BLACKMAIL

A dangerous predator responsible for blackmailing women and young girls across multiple countries, including in Aberdeen, has been formally sentenced to a lengthy prison term. Anthony "Danny" Burns, who previously resided in Colville, Lowestoft, Suffolk, was handed a 24-year imprisonment last Friday after being found guilty of numerous offenses related to online sexual abuse and blackmail.

Burns’s criminal activities spanned several years, during which he exploited the anonymity of the internet to target vulnerable victims worldwide. The National Crime Agency (NCA) described Burns as a disciple of Abdul Elahi, a notorious figure in Britain’s child abuse history, who was sentenced to 32 years in December 2021 for sadistic online abuse involving approximately 2,000 victims across the globe. Burns’s connection to Elahi highlights the disturbing network of online predators operating under the radar.

Between May 2018 and March 2021, Burns used 'sugar daddy' websites as a platform to lure women into performing degrading sexual acts. Under threats of blackmail, he coerced victims into complying with his demands, often pushing them into situations where they felt powerless to refuse. His criminal reach extended to the United States, where he manipulated the mother of a seven-year-old girl into abusing her own child at Burns’s behest, a heinous act that underscores the severity of his predatory behavior.

An extensive international investigation uncovered that Burns faced a total of 46 charges. These included blackmail, attempted blackmail, causing a child under 13 to engage in sexual activity, possession of indecent images of children, possession of extreme pornography, malicious communications, and violations of notification requirements. Burns pleaded guilty to 41 of these charges and was convicted of two additional counts after a two-day trial at Birmingham Crown Court. Several other charges remain on file, indicating the breadth of his criminal conduct.

On January 19, Judge Sarah Buckingham sentenced Burns to serve 24 years in prison, with an additional five years on license. The court also imposed a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and mandated lifetime registration as a sex offender, reflecting the ongoing risk he poses to the community. During the trial proceedings, it was revealed that Burns had attempted to contact approximately 600 individuals worldwide with the intent of exploiting them sexually. His methods involved sophisticated manipulation, including coaching from Abdul Elahi on blackmail techniques, which involved scripted language designed to gain victims’ trust and manipulate their responses.

Burns operated under multiple online aliases, impersonating figures such as a model agency head and even an officer from the NCA, to deceive and entrap victims. Once trust was established, he would shift conversations to WhatsApp, where he would delete messages to conceal evidence. Victims were coerced into filming themselves performing sexual acts, under the false promise of payment, which was never delivered. As his victims resisted, Burns resorted to threats, forcing them to send increasingly depraved images and videos, ultimately trapping them through fear of exposure.

Among his 35 victims, whose ages ranged from seven to 54, all have been safeguarded and provided with support. Burns was apprehended by NCA officers in February 2019. Forensic investigations revealed that he stored and shared abuse material on cloud storage platforms, which led to the identification of a child and her mother in the United States. The child was rescued and safeguarded, while the mother was later sentenced to 21 years in prison for her involvement.

Burns’s criminal history predates these offenses, including a 2010 conviction for sexual grooming and possession of extreme pornography, as well as a 2013 breach of his Sexual Offences Order. NCA Operations Manager Robert Slater condemned Burns as a "revolting sexual offender" and emphasized the importance of combating technology-facilitated abuse. He urged victims to come forward and report any online pressure or exploitation, reinforcing the ongoing fight against such heinous crimes.