JACK BRENNAN OF ATTLEBOROUGH SENTENCED FOR GROOMING US TEENS IN HORRIFIC SNAPCHAT CASE

In a disturbing case that has shocked the community of Attleborough and garnered international attention, Jack Brennan, a 29-year-old man from Norfolk, has been sentenced to a decade behind bars for his heinous crimes involving the grooming and sexual exploitation of teenage girls from the United States. The offences, which took place primarily through Snapchat, involved Brennan coercing young girls into sending him explicit images and videos, subjecting them to threats and psychological manipulation.

According to court proceedings, Brennan targeted two teenage girls from Montana and Oregon, aged 15 and 13 respectively. He befriended them on Snapchat, initially engaging in seemingly innocent conversations before gradually encouraging them to send nude photographs of themselves. The situation escalated as Brennan issued threats to the girls, warning that he would share their images in Facebook groups or send them to their parents unless they complied with his demands. One of the victims was told she would be placed into foster care if she disclosed what was happening, while another was threatened with the involvement of paedophiles who would be sent to her home, which housed a six-year-old relative, unless she continued to send increasingly degrading videos and images.

During the sentencing at Norwich Crown Court, Recorder John Hardy described Brennan’s actions as a form of “sexual enslavement,” emphasizing the severity and depravity of his conduct. Prosecutor Lori Tucker detailed how Brennan instructed the girls to refer to him as “daddy” and “master,” further asserting his dominance over them. Under the threat of exposure, the victims were coerced into sending explicit images and videos, some depicting sexual acts, with explicit and degrading language written on their faces and bodies. One girl was even threatened into sending a video of herself licking a toilet seat, illustrating the extreme nature of Brennan’s manipulation.

In addition to the American victims, a third girl, aged 11 from Texas, was also lured into sending nude photographs, highlighting the widespread reach of Brennan’s online predation. The authorities were alerted to Brennan’s activities after US Homeland Security contacted UK law enforcement, following a boyfriend of one of the victims revealing Brennan’s contact details. An investigation into Brennan’s Snapchat account uncovered further victims, revealing a disturbing cache of over 100 child sex videos and nearly a thousand indecent images of children stored on his phone.

It was revealed that Brennan was already subject to sexual offending restrictions, having been convicted in 2019 for possession of indecent images of children. Despite this, he continued to target vulnerable young girls from the US, even as investigations into his activities were ongoing. Brennan pleaded guilty to multiple charges, including three counts of possession of indecent photographs of a child, two counts of sexual communication with a child between November 2021 and February 2022, and additional charges related to causing a child to engage in sexual activity, distributing indecent images, and breaching a previous 10-year sexual harm prevention order.

Addressing Brennan in court, Recorder John Hardy condemned his actions as “repugnant and repulsive,” emphasizing the damage inflicted upon the young victims, who were children and whose innocence he had profoundly violated. As part of his sentence, Brennan was ordered to register as a sex offender and was issued a sexual harm prevention order, which includes a five-year ban on traveling to the United States. The court also stipulated that Brennan must serve at least two-thirds of his 10-year sentence in prison, reflecting the gravity of his crimes and the need for ongoing public protection.