OLIVER RANDALL'S BRIDPORT INTERNET SEX BLACKMAILER SENT TO PRISON

In December 2008, Oliver Randall, a 19-year-old university student from Bridport, was sentenced to four years in prison for his involvement in a disturbing online grooming and blackmail scheme targeting young girls. The court heard that Randall, who was studying biochemistry, had groomed and manipulated at least 40 girls, some as young as 12, through various social networking websites such as MSN, Bebo, and MySpace.

Randall’s criminal activities began in August 2005 when he was just 16 years old. His initial contact with a victim was made in person, but he soon transitioned to online conversations, where he encouraged the girls to strip and pose in front of webcams. He then used these explicit images as leverage, threatening to post them on the internet unless the victims met him for sex. The majority of his victims complied, with two 15-year-old girls actually meeting him in person and engaging in sexual acts in a field and a car park. Despite his manipulations, many girls refused to meet him, but Randall persisted in his efforts to exploit them.

His arrest came in June 2008 after a 12-year-old girl’s mother discovered an obscene message Randall had sent to her daughter. The police seized Randall’s laptop at Southampton University, where he was studying, and found numerous files containing images and videos of his victims in various states of undress. Randall admitted to the charges, which included engaging a child under 16 in sexual activity, inciting a girl under 16 to engage in sexual acts, grooming minors online, and producing indecent images of children. He also requested that 60 other similar offences be taken into consideration during sentencing.

Detective Inspector Becky Riggs of Dorset Police explained that Randall’s offending began while he was living at home in Bridport and later continued during his time at university. She detailed how Randall initially made contact with victims in person but quickly moved to online platforms, where he built conversations that turned increasingly sexual. His tactics involved persuading young girls to send explicit photographs, which he then used to blackmail them into meeting him for sex. Two of the girls, both aged 15, met Randall and engaged in sexual activity, with one being filmed during the act in a field, and the other in a Dorchester car park.

Further investigation revealed that Randall’s manipulative behavior was driven by a disturbing pattern of exploitation. His actions caused significant emotional harm, with victims experiencing shame, degradation, humiliation, and guilt. Randall’s intelligence was noted by authorities, but it was also evident that he struggled to comprehend the full consequences of his actions. During police interviews, he was honest about his age and intentions but appeared fixated on the girls he targeted.

His defense argued that Randall’s troubled background, including being bullied at school and the death of his father, contributed to his behavior. However, the judge, Harvey Clark, condemned Randall for his exploitation of vulnerable girls and the emotional damage inflicted upon them. In addition to his four-year prison sentence, Randall was ordered to serve a six-year license period post-release and was mandated to register as a sex offender for life. The court’s verdict underscores the seriousness of his crimes and the ongoing threat posed by online predators from Bridport and surrounding areas.