Monstrous case of online rapist Paul Leighton, who blackmailed children around the world into sex acts with siblings
Paedophile Leighton, who has been jailed for 16 years, posed as a young girl to convince victims to send him explicit images - then used extortion to force them into becoming abusers themselves
A British paedophile who blackmailed as many as 100 children on the other side of the world into committing sexual acts has been convicted of rape and sentenced to 16 years in prison.
Posing as a child, Paul Leighton, 31, used between 30 and 40 fake Facebook accounts to befriend teenagers in the US, Canada and Australia, and persuade them to send naked or sexual images of themselves.
Once he had received the pictures or videos he would use them to blackmail the children into becoming abusers themselves by threatening to send the images to family members, friends and classmates.
You have effectively destroyed the lives of these people against whom you made these threats
The teenager and another boy similarly targeted by Leighton were arrested for rape and incest.