Locations
Wavertree Park Gardens, Wyke, Bradford, West Yorkshire, BD12
Description
A tech addict who hacked into teenage girls' Snapchat accounts and tried to bribe them into sending him naked pictures of themselves has been jailed.
Robert Parsons, 22, "toyed" and "teased" with his victims, who were aged between 14 and 19, and on one occasion posed as a 14-year-old boy.
His actions left the girls with severe trauma, Bradford Crown Court heard.
He was given a five-year custodial term to be followed by a closely-monitored four-year licence period.
At an earlier hearing Parsons, who carried out his offending while subject to previous sexual prevention orders, admitted 24 offences related to illegally accessing the Snapchat accounts of his victims.
The court was told how he had left the girls feeling frightened and embarrassed after accessing their private photos and, in one case, posted an intimate picture on a public platform.
The mother of one of the victims, a 15-year-old girl, said her daughter had suffered an horrific ordeal during which she was blackmailed by Parsons.
Prosecutor David McGonigal said Parsons was addicted to using internet devices and had persisted in offending with disregard for his existing court orders.
Sentencing him, Judge Andrew Hatton said Parsons had caused severe psychological trauma to the the girls and he was satisfied he met the criteria for an extended sentence as a dangerous offender.
His list of offences included attempting to cause a person to engage in sexual activity without consent, disclosing private sexual photos without consent, breach of a sexual harm prevention order, breach of the sex offender notification requirements and possession of indecent images of children.
His previous convictions included making indecent photos of children dating from when he was aged 15 and 16.
Parsons' barrister Abdul Shakoor said he was addicted to pornography and that had led him down a path of social isolation, with lockdown having made matters worse.
Fortunately, none of the complainants sent the images Parsons demanded so no sexual activity without consent ultimately took place, Mr Shakoor said.
Parsons, formerly of Wavertree Park Gardens, Bradford, but held in custody at HMP Leeds, was also given a nine-year sexual harm prevention order and must remain on the Sexual Offenders' Register for life.
Det Insp Lee Speight said Parsons posed a threat to young women and praised the bravery of victims and their families for giving evidence.