MAN JAILED FOR GROOMING AND CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE OVER THE INTERNET
A man from Ebbw Vale, identified as 39-year-old Lee Sandeman, engaged in a grooming process with a 15-year-old girl online in Canada.During their digital interactions, he captured explicit images of her while she was naked and involved in sexual activities.
When authorities searched his residence, they discovered hundreds of illegal images of children.
Sandeman initially contacted the girl in 2019 using the alias 'Raven Knight' on Discord.
Over several months, he established a relationship of trust, sharing photographs, videos, voice calls, and webcam sessions, during which he coerced her into performing sexual acts on camera.
Prosecutors told Cardiff Crown Court that the victim later reported Sandeman’s misconduct to Canadian police in 2021.
She disclosed that he had sent her pictures of naked people, engaged in explicit conversations, and expressed sexual interests involving her.
As their chats became more explicit, Sandeman described his intentions, which made the girl uncomfortable.
He also instructed her to perform sexual acts on herself via webcam, recorded her doing so, and asked for additional images, which she sent.
When police searched his home on November 1, 2021, officers recovered a computer tower containing numerous illegal images, including 153 categorized as Category A, 31 as Category B, 35 as Category C, and over 4,000 extreme images depicting children as young as nine being raped by adults.
Sandeman pleaded guilty to multiple offenses, including inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, engaging in sexual communication with a child, producing indecent images, and possessing extreme obscene images.
Though he was previously considered of good character, he had cautions for possessing indecent images and cannabis.
His defense described him as a person living in virtual isolation, in a cluttered room referred to as a 'hovel,' surrounded by rubbish, empty alcohol bottles, and a stained sofa.
The judge highlighted his bizarre and unhealthy lifestyle, marked by fixations on sex, alcohol, cannabis, online gaming, and pornography.
Judge Lucy Crowther sentenced him to 32 months in prison, with half of the sentence to be served in custody and the remainder on license.
He will also need to register as a sex offender indefinitely, and additional measures, including a restraining order and Sexual Harm Prevention Order, will be imposed in subsequent hearings.
