OSWALDTWISTLE SEX OFFENDER WHO ENCOURAGED CHILD TO SELF-HARM JAILED
A teenager who groomed a 14-year-old girl on social media and encouraged her to self-harm has been jailed for five years.Kai Edmundson openly referred to himself as a paedophile, as well as sending the victim up to five indecent images of children and a link to a website where indecent images of children could be accessed.
On that website were images of children as young as four.
The pair never actually met in person as she lives in Derbyshire and Edmundson lived in Oswaldtwistle.
However, he used social media platforms Telegram, Discord and WhatsApp to target the vulnerable child.
The victim told Edmundson she was 14 when they first started communicating over Discord last September.
Edmundson also demanded images and video of the victim undressing and committing lewd acts on herself.
He also told her to refer to him as a disgusting paedophile and described how he wanted to commit illegal acts.
As the conversations between the pair continued, Edmundson encouraged the victim’s eating disorder and told her to carve his name into her skin.
Edmundson also encouraged the victim to self-harm and requested evidence to prove that she had done it.
Contact between the pair stopped on January 31.
The matter was reported to officers at Derbyshire Police and they visited the victim.
They recovered screenshots of conversations between the victim and a profile on Discord which was being operated by Edmundson.
They also saw the faint marks on the victim’s neck of the name Kai which had been scratched into the skin.
Edmundson was arrested on April 1 by officers from the East Internet Child Exploitation Team.
His phone was seized, and officers found indecent images of children on it.
Following consultation with the Crown Prosecution Service, Edmundson, formerly of Oswaldtwistle but now of no fixed address, was charged with engaging in sexual communication with a child; causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity; encouraging or assisting serious self-harm; and possessing indecent images of children.
He pleaded guilty to all the offences when he appeared at Preston Crown Court earlier this year.
He was back in the court today (24th October) and was sentenced to five years and three months in custody.
He was also made subject of an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order and told to sign the Sex Offenders Register for life.
DS Nicholas Barker, said: “Edmundson is an extremely troubled young man with some extremely disturbing views and behaviours.
He is someone who presents a serious risk to children due to his online activities.
“I hope the outcome of this case, and the fact that Edmundson has been given a custodial sentence sends out a clear message that the police will not tolerate this abhorrent behaviour online.
We will work with other forces to protect the victims and put the offenders before the courts.
We are also working hard to get that message out to parents and children to be wary of online predators, such as Edmundson.
They may act like they are your friend and that they care about you, but they are actually dangerous individuals who mean you serious harm.
Finally, I want to praise the victim in this case for the immense bravery she has shown throughout this process.
Now the court process is over, I hope she can now begin to move on with her life.
