JONATHAN MURPHY FROM WIRRAL SENTENCED TO SIX YEARS FOR ONLINE CHILD SEXUAL OFFENCES IN LIVERPOOL

In January 2012, a court sentenced 35-year-old Jonathan Murphy of Wirral to six years in prison for his involvement in blackmailing young girls in America through the internet. Murphy’s actions caused significant distress and disruption in the lives of his victims, court proceedings revealed.

A judge described Murphy’s behavior as “abominable” and emphasized the severity of his crimes, stating, “blackmail is one of the most vicious crimes in the calendar of wicked offences. It is appalling behaviour, vicious and nasty.”

Murphy targeted vulnerable teenage girls, obtaining naked images of them online and then blackmailing them. During the trial, it was recounted how Murphy maliciously contacted a 13-year-old girl and her 15-year-old sister in Massachusetts. When the girls begged him to stop after receiving numerous Facebook messages, Murphy dismissively responded, “If you’re trying to prey on my conscience, I haven’t got one.”

He threatened to come to the USA and kidnap them unless he received more images or he achieved his demands. When the girls refused, Murphy followed through on his threat by sharing a video of the 13-year-old showing her naked breasts with her mother, friends, and even her school. Some of these images were sent via a fake Facebook account in her name.

Murphy also distributed an indecent video of another young girl to her friend and uploaded it on a file-sharing website. Prosecutor Christopher Hopkins explained that Murphy had used a Facebook account under the pseudonym John Reeves, but was identified following a joint operation involving the FBI, Merseyside Police Abusive Images Unit, CEOP, and Facebook.

Upon police raids at Murphy’s residence on Highfield Road, Rock Ferry, on November 3, 2010, authorities discovered over 2,000 indecent images and videos of children among his stored files. Investigations revealed that Murphy had been actively sharing these images and communicating with other online offenders.

Murphy pleaded guilty to three counts of blackmail and 26 counts of downloading and distributing indecent images. Judge David Fletcher ordered him to register as a sex offender for life, and also imposed a Sexual Offences Prevention Order that restricted him from unsupervised contact with girls under 16 and limited his internet access.

During evidence presentation, it was detailed that the 13-year-old girl had initially contacted Murphy on a website, believing him to be a teenager. Murphy manipulated her into revealing her breasts via webcam, then captured an image. Over three months, he sent hundreds of threatening messages demanding more images.

Murphy further victimized the girls by sharing their images and videos online. He posted a video of the 13-year-old on a file-sharing site, making it publicly accessible. He also sent an indecent video of another girl to her friend, with a link to the file-sharing platform.

In online chats, Murphy referred to his victims as “cam whores” and appeared to search websites for images of underage girls. Victim impact statements highlighted the psychological toll, with the 13-year-old requiring counseling, losing friends, changing schools, and suffering from diminished confidence. Her sister and mother also experienced significant distress caused by Murphy’s actions.

Defence attorney Paul Wood acknowledged Murphy’s awareness of the gravity of his actions, noting he accepted their serious consequences. Murphy, who has a prior conviction for nuisance phone calls, had also stopped his offending behavior independently. He was described as socially isolated, having lost his job after 17 years of employment, and struggling with alcohol issues.

After sentencing, Detective Constable Dave Gregson from Merseyside Police’s Abusive Images Unit stated, “This investigation shows that Merseyside Police in conjunction with partner agencies such as Facebook, FBI and Child Exploitation Online Protection Centre will continue to investigate the online activities of individuals engaged in pedophiliac activity on the internet. The clear message here is that no matter how someone attempts to hide their identity, they can be uncovered and brought before the courts.”