CHRISTIAN BLAND RELEASED AND SEEN IN BOURNE END AREA - BUCKS

Update – August 2014: Christian Bland has now been released from custody and has been spotted multiple times in the Bourne End area.

In September 2011, a brave mother played a key role in apprehending a Facebook-based paedophile who threatened to rape and kill young girls as young as 12.

Christian Bland, of Carrington Avenue, Flackwell Heath, was responsible for contacting at least 19 girls from south Buckinghamshire, sending them sexually explicit messages and threats via Facebook.

Bland was caught after the mother kept him engaged in conversation on the social networking site for an hour, which enabled police to arrive and make the arrest.

He believed he was speaking to the mother’s 14-year-old daughter and sent her a horrifying video of a woman being raped, accompanied by a chilling message warning that the same fate awaited her if she did not comply with his demands.

The mother, who wishes to remain anonymous for legal reasons, stated: “If I hadn’t done anything I don’t know what would have happened. It was horrendous what he was saying to these girls, knowing they were children. The things he was saying were absolutely disgusting. I’m really pleased I did what I did.”

Bland, who was placed on the Sex Offenders’ Register for life and banned from working with children in the future, used a fake profile to contact his victims, with the youngest being just 12 years old.

She explained: “He threatened to follow my daughter home from school and said he would kill the girls he messaged. He sent me a link that showed a young girl being raped by two men, which sent shivers down my spine."

The mother added: “He threatened to kill them if they didn’t send him photos or do as he wanted. He’s a very malicious, nasty man. He threatened to kill every single girl if they didn’t obey his commands.”

She provided police with a printed copy of her Facebook conversation with Bland. Authorities tracked his IP address through her laptop, leading to his arrest.

Initially, four girls came forward to give evidence in court. By the time of his sentencing on Wednesday, that number had increased to 19, although the mother suspects many more victims were involved.

She revealed: “He was friends with 203 girls under the age of 16, and many attended my daughter’s school.”

Bland pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including attempting to cause or incite a child to engage in sexual activity, causing or inciting a female child to engage in sexual activity, encouraging or facilitating prostitution or pornography involving a child aged 13-17, and possession of indecent images.

The final charge involved extreme pornography found on his home computer.

He was sentenced to an indeterminate prison term by Aylesbury Crown Court Judge Francis Sheridan, with the possibility of parole after 18 months, to protect the public.

The mother commented: “I don’t think the sentence was enough. His threats to the girls make me believe he’s not going to change.”