Teen’s ‘attentive’ Snapchat friend turned out to be ‘a parent’s worst nightmare’

When officers found indecent images of children aged between eight and 11 on Benjamin Mitchell’s phone he said he “knew it was wrong” but that “age wasn’t a consideration for him”

A teenager’s Snapchat friend who presented himself as “kind and attentive” turned out to be a “parent’s worst nightmare”, a court heard as he was jailed.

Benjamin Mitchell, 19, groomed his victim via Snapchat and “latched onto her like a leech” before coercing her into sending sexual videos of herself. Her abuser went to make several disturbing admissions over his apparent desire to “use cable ties to tie up children.”

The schoolgirl told a court yesterday: “He knew exactly what he was doing. He knew it was wrong. He did it anyway. He only cares about himself.” Liverpool Crown Court heard on Tuesday that Mitchell, of Newton-le-Willows, started an online relationship with a 15-year-old girl after he became friends with her on Snapchat in August of last year.

Over four months, Mitchell sent images of himself performing a sex acts and pressured her into sharing indecent material of herself performing sex acts. Prosecutor Paul Blasbery said the schoolgirl would send Mitchell between “five to eight” such videos each week, leaving her “feeling awful.”

Mitchell’s behaviour persisted over the course of the following four months until the girl disclosed his conduct to friends and her mum in December last year. The mum said she was “going about her normal routine” when her daughter “called her into the bedroom in a distressed state” and told her what had been going on, reports the Liverpool Echo.

The mum described Mitchell’s crimes as “disgusting and abhorrent”, saying in a statement: “It’s a parent’s worst nightmare that their child falls prey to a sexual predator online.” The girl herself described Mitchell as “latching onto her like a leech”, having “preyed on her mental health struggles.”

The girl added that she “didn’t deserve to be treated like a play thing to satisfy his own needs” and said: “He’s a danger to young, vulnerable girls. He knew exactly what he was doing. He knew it was wrong. He did it anyway. He only cares about himself.”

Officers arrived at Mitchell’s home and seized his mobile phone, discovering 32 category C indecent images of girls aged between eight and 11 on the device. Under interview, Mitchell said he was aware of the girl’s age and “knew it was wrong” but that “age wasn’t a consideration for him.”

Mitchell also said he had told the teenager he “liked children and indecent pictures of children” and “admitted that he was sexually attracted to children and couldn’t stop”, adding he was “lonely and alone in his flat”. His criminal record shows one previous conviction for five offences, receiving a six-month imprisonment suspended for 18 months in May last year. This was in relation to possession of 10 category A indecent images of children, a further 382 in category C and 85 prohibited images of children.

Leah Gregory, defending, told the court: “It is clear that professionals do regard Mr Mitchell as vulnerable. He has a diagnosis of autism and ADHD. It is suggested that those conditions may have had some impact on his behaviour and, perhaps, his culpability. There is clearly some intervention needed from a medical perspective for this defendant.”

Mitchell pleaded guilty to engaging in sexual communications with a child, inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, causing a child to watch a sexual act, possession of indecent images of children, making indecent images and breaching a suspended sentence order. Appearing via video link to HMP Liverpool wearing a grey t-shirt and glasses and using a crutch, he was jailed for four years and handed an extended licence period of three years.

The Honorary Recorder of Liverpool Judge Andrew Menary KC referenced “very worrying” disclosures which Mitchell had made to his offender manager, including “admitted his obsessive interest in children” and his “plain obsession with collecting weapons”. He was also said to have “referred to using cable ties to tie up children in the context of sexual activity”. He added that Mitchell had an “entrenched sexual interest in children”.

In his sentencing remarks, the judge said: “The offences concern the systematic grooming and sexual exploitation of this 15-year-old. She was, at the time, plainly vulnerable, suffering from mental health difficulties and suffering from feelings of loneliness. She was seeking companionship and someone to talk to.

“You quickly established contact, presented yourself as kind, attentive and understanding and encouraged her to confide in you. It is clear to me that you used that information to deepen the relationship and increase her reliance on you. There was considerable activity of a sexual nature between you and this underage girl. From an early stage, she told you that she was 15 years old. But that did not deter you.

“After a period of building trust, you introduced sexual content. You sent her unsolicited images of yourself masturbating and thereafter requested sexual images of her. You persisted in making request, told her she that she could trust you and created emotional pressure by becoming distant and withdrawn when she refused. Over time, she gave in to that pressure.

“The dynamic between you was one of control, dependency and coerciveness. She makes clear that she never initiated sexual activity. She did not enjoy what she was doing. She felt compelled to maintain the relationship, and her mental health deteriorated significantly as a result.

“This is a clear example of emotional manipulation and grooming of a child for sexual purposes. The effect on the complainant has been significant. There was, on any view, serious harm caused by the activity, even in the absence of physical contact. You were still and are still a young man. You have been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and ADHD. You were taken into care at a young age and raised in a disruptive environment.”

Referencing a psychiatric report concerning Mitchell, Judge Menary added: “The report makes clear that you knew full well that the complainant was 15. You understood that your conduct was wrong. You are perfectly capable of controlling your actions if you want to do so. Your conditions reduce, to an extent, your maturity and judgement, but do not remove your responsibility altogether.

“You knew that she was vulnerable and you undoubtedly exploited that vulnerability. You have accepted that you are sexual attracted to children. You have described this behaviour as an addiction. You knew that it was wrong and you were capable of controlling your behaviour.”

Mitchell will be required to serve at least two thirds of his four-year term behind bars before becoming eligible for release by the Parole Board. He was also handed a 10-year sexual harm prevention order and told to sign the sex offenders’ register indefinitely and given a lifelong restraining order.