'Dangerous' Leeds predator Justin Swaddle jailed for abusing 117 victims as a teenager

An internet predator has been jailed after forcing more than 100 teenage girls to self-harm and perform sex acts online.

Warning - extreme content

Justin Swaddle, who was 17 when his campaign of abuse took place, groomed girls aged 13 to 17 on the apps Discord, Telegram, and Snapchat.

Swaddle, now 20, was found to have pictures of victims with self-harm injuries, including of his aliases carved into their skin.

He was given a two-year sentence at Leeds Crown Court on Monday, the National Crime Agency (NCA) said.

Swaddle, from the Meanwood area of the city, was part of Com group - a set of loose online communities that share extreme graphic material, and manipulate victims to allow them to commit both sexual and violent child abuse.

Members are mainly teenage boys driven by a desire for status, rather than sexual desire or money. Notoriety is achieved by sharing more extreme content and committing increasingly serious crimes.

Investigators found Swaddle had been in contact with 117 female victims aged 13 to 17, eight of whom were in the UK, and that he used aliases including Epstein, Rugen, and Moscow.

Judge Peter Kelson KC called him "a predatory shark preying on children swimming in the dark waters of the internet" and remarked that it was "one of the more extreme cases" he'd seen.

NCA operations manager Danielle Pownall said Swaddle was a "dangerous offender" who "targeted young and vulnerable victims all over the world to abuse and scare them into carrying out shocking self-harm and sexual activity, purely to gain popularity with his peers online".

She added: "He gained the trust of his victims before collecting private information about them so he could threaten to share their intimate images or report them to their school or parents to incite further content."

One victim, aged 17, told detectives she met him on Discord in November 2022 and, after moving to Snapchat, their conversation became sexual, and they discussed self-harm.

Swaddle asked for nude pictures of her, and that she carve his username into her body, the NCA said.

After getting her name, address, and school details, he threatened to use her personal information if she did not supply further images and videos.

She learned he had also recorded calls where sexual activity had taken place and shared them with a group.

His devices contained indecent images of children in categories A to C, with A being the most severe.

Detectives estimated the images on his devices showed children aged between three and 17, with several indicating he had directed or encouraged the acts.

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In July, Swaddle admitted two counts of inciting a girl aged 13 to 15 to engage in sexual activity without penetration; inciting a girl aged 13 to 15 to engage in sexual activity with penetration; and blackmail, the NCA said.

He also pleaded guilty to making an indecent photograph of a child in categories A, B, and C, as well as possessing an extreme pornographic image, and possessing a prohibited image of a child.

He was jailed after an investigation that involved law enforcement in the UK, USA, Canada, Australia, Norway, and New Zealand.

He will also be subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order for 10 years and must sign the National Sex Offenders Register.

(c) Sky News 2026: 'Dangerous' Leeds predator Justin Swaddle jailed for abusing 117 victims as a teenager