CHARLIE JOHNSON

🚨Two men who coerced teenage girls into sharing nude images and serious self harm before mocking them online have been jailed.

Charlie Johnson, 24, and Prince Singh, 23, encouraged their victims to carve names into themselves, wanting them to be 'scarred for life', before sharing the images on online chatrooms.

Victims said the men 'weaponised' the young age of their victims and made them feel responsible for their own abuse.

Both men were charged in April with a number of offences against two female victims, who were 16 and 17 years old at the time between 2024 and January 2025.

Today at Woolwich Crown Court, Johnson was sentenced to four years in prison, while Singh was sentenced to two years and nine months.

Johnson was also convicted of physically abusing both women when they met in person.

Judge Ruth Downing described the pair treating their 'deliberate planned acts' as a 'game', picking vulnerable victims.

One of the girls said she 'still has nightmares' over the abuse and said she was 'made to feel like everything was my fault, even when he hurt me'.

The court heard the defendants would share 'nudes' and images of self-harm which they received on a Discord group chat they ran together.

The victim said Johnson, who was in his 20s when they met, 'weaponised' her youth, saying she still has 'nightmares of the abuse'.

She later added: 'Emotionally I felt worthless for a long time, I felt disposable and I even felt guilty that he was facing consequences.' One of the women said her contact with Johnson began when she was living in a children's home at 16.

Singh then began messaging her, giving her 'the impression that he cared', the prosecution said.

However, Singh's true feelings towards the victim were revealed in messages to Johnson, where he said he was going to 'ruin her life'.

He expressed a desire to leave the woman 'scarred for life'.

He wrote: 'Stage one; befriend, stage two; learn the name of school and work place, stage three; sit back and drink a slush puppy while her life falls to shit.' Judge Downing said the 'deeply disturbing exchange' illustrated their intentions behind these acts.

Evidence of the indecent images and encouraging self-harm of girls were found on various devices taken from the defendants' bedrooms when they were arrested.

These included references and pictures of other girls who were not involved in the trial, the court heard.

One of the victims told the court on Wednesday that despite the trauma inflicted on her, she is 'proud' they had stepped forward.

'We knew we had to say something to stop this happening to other girls in the future,' she said.

Judge Downing said the two men were drawn together by their 'mutual interest' in encouraging 'school girls' to self-harm.

She added: 'I am of the view that both these men took a deeply unhealthy interest in this idea in encouraging others, young women, inevitably women, to self-harm.' The case marks the first time defendants have been convicted by jury trial of assisting or encouraging serious self-harm under the Online Safety Act of 2023.

While others have pleaded guilty to offences of this type, Johnson's trial was the first time they were tested in court.

Johnson was convicted after trial of two counts of encouraging self-harm, two counts of distributing indecent images of a child, along with three counts of assault by beating.

He admitted two counts of making an indecent image, while Singh admitted counts of making and distributing indecent images of a child along with encouraging serious self-harm of one of the victims.

Jessica Lunan, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: 'Charlie Johnson and Prince Singh committed devastating acts of violence and coercion against their young, vulnerable victims.

'Through online chat rooms, they exploited and preyed upon young girls from different parts of the UK by illegally sharing indecent images of them and encouraging them to commit acts of self-harm.

'Our prosecutors work tirelessly to protect victims and bring offenders to justice.

Sharing indecent images of children is a criminal offence, and those who do so will face the full force of the law.' Johnson was convicted after trial of two counts of encouraging self-harm, two counts of distributing indecent images of a child, along with three counts of assault by beating.

He admitted two counts of making an indecent image, while Singh admitted counts of making and distributing indecent images of a child along with encouraging serious self-harm of one of the victims.

Johnson and Singh each received their custodial sentences for their most serious self-harm count, and concurrent sentences for the other offences.

Both men will serve half of their sentences in custody and will be subject to a sexual harm prevention order for five years.