Callum Sellers 23

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A MAN who blackmailed young girls into sending him sexually explicit photos and videos saying “listen to me, or else” has been jailed for seven years.

Callum Sellers told one teenager he was a 17-year-old photographer from Yorkshire with an interest in railway engines before persuading her to send him topless images, Bradford Crown Court heard today.

Then he pestered her for more, threatening to send the pictures he already had to her mother, prosecutor Nick Adlington said.

The girl, who was 15 and from a different part of the country, was blackmailed into sending Sellers videos of her performing sex acts on herself.

He messaged: “Tick-tock, hurry up,” and “how badly do you want the pics deleted?” leaving her crying, shaking and feeling utterly degraded.

She told a friend what had happened and then a teacher and her mother were alerted.

Sellers, 21, formerly of West Bowling, Bradford, now in HMP Leeds, had 1,624 indecent images of children on his phones when they were seized by the police in November last year.

He went on to plead guilty to a total of 24 offences of possession of indecent photo-graphs at Categories A, B and C; inciting or attempting to incite a child to engage in sexual activity and making an unwarranted demand for sexual images and videos with menaces.

Mr Adlington said other threatening messages to Sellers’ victims included “let me see you or else” and “Do as I say or I’ll post it because I know your Facebook.”

Hundreds of indecent images of different girls from around the country were found on his phones. Some were traced but others couldn’t be found, the court was told.

One girl, who was 15 at the time, said in her victim impact statement: “I still feel rubbish.”

She had panic attacks and nightmares and stated: “I feel guilty like it’s my fault and I shouldn’t have been so stupid.”

Sellers’ barrister, Victoria Smith-Swain, said he was of previous good character and had just turned 20 at the time he began offending.

He had worked as a picker/packer at a warehouse and his interests included photography and railway engines.

Sellers had traits associated with autism, including highly restricted interests. He felt lonely outside of work and began to engage with girls over Snapchat. His sexual interest in them became obsessional and helped to manage his depression, the court was told.

He had written a letter of apology to his victims expressing his remorse and conceding that his behaviour had been “degrading and debilitating” for them.

Sellers had been working in prison as a painter while on remand since March, Miss Smith-Swain said.

The Recorder of Bradford, Judge Richard Mansell QC, said Sellers groomed, pestered and intimidated the 15-year-old into sending the explicit videos of herself.

She had the presence of mind to take screenshots of his messages and hand them to the police.

In all, there were 92 images of young girls on Sellers’ phones. Several were identified by the police and contacted, Judge Mansell said.

Sellers sent threatening messages to some of the girls, including “ignoring me now?” before demanding more explicit images.

Two of the girls were just 13 at the time Sellers targeted them.

One girl pleaded: “OMG delete it. You said you’d leave me alone” while another told him: “Stop, please, you’re ruining my life completely.”

Judge Mansell said Sellers’ demands could have led girls to self-harm or even commit suicide because of the psychological damage he had done to them.

But he was just 20 at the time and very immature, with developmental difficulties from childhood. He became “obsessed if not addicted” to gaining sexual gratification from the images, Judge Mansell said.

He warned Sellers he was “right on the cusp of being deemed dangerous,” and receiving an extended sentence of imprisonment.

A Sexual Harm Prevention Order was made for an indefinite period and Sellers must sign on the sex offender register, also indefinitely.

Judge Mansell made a restraining order banning him from having any future contact with any of his victims.

He told Sellers to reflect long and hard on the damage he had caused to the girls.