A 20-year-old man in Britain, described by a judge as a "predator shark," has been jailed for coercing more than 100 victims, including underage girls, into self-harming and carving his online username into their bodies.
Justin Sudale also used social media to blackmail his victims and force them into sexual acts, according to Britain's National Crime Agency (NCA), whose investigation led to his arrest. All the victims were girls aged between 13 and 17.
The NCA said Sudale took part in a hidden online community whose members use mainstream social media platforms to identify and manipulate victims. Sudale, from Mingwood in Leeds, admitted in July to a series of offenses involving sexual abuse and blackmail. Leeds Crown Court sentenced him to two years in prison.
He will also be subject to a sexual harm prevention order for ten years and must register as a sex offender.
117 victims worldwide
Sudale was 17 when he committed the offenses. The court heard that authorities have linked his activity to a total of 117 victims across various countries, eight of them in the United Kingdom.
He was first arrested by West Yorkshire Police in October 2023 for offenses including possessing, making and distributing indecent images. His electronic devices were seized and his online activity was investigated. He used Snapchat, Telegram and Discord under usernames including Epstein, Rugen and Moscow. In January 2024 the NCA opened a separate investigation into him.
Hundreds of conversations of a "sexual nature" were found on his phone, including with a 17-year-old girl he had asked to send nude photos and to carve his name into her body. The girl testified that Sudale knew her name, address and school. He had also shared a sexually explicit video she had made in a group chat, then threatened to send it to others unless she gave him more material.
The hidden 'Com' networks
The NCA said the "Com" groups, one of which Sudale belonged to, have members in many countries and use everything from messaging apps to online gaming platforms for their criminal activity. An agency spokesperson said offenders and victims are usually in the same groups, and offenders are typically motivated not by money or sexual gratification but by the status and reputation they gain from sharing shocking content with other members.
Telegram messages recovered from his device also showed he had tried to incite a minor to sexually abuse a younger child and film it for him. Indecent images of children, including a child as young as three, were also found in his possession.
'He gained victims' trust'
Danielle Pownall, an NCA operations manager, said Sudale targeted young and vulnerable victims around the world, abusing and terrorizing them into shocking self-harm and sexual acts solely to gain popularity among his online peers. She said he gained his victims' trust and then gathered personal information about them so he could threaten to share their private images or report them to their school or parents, forcing them to produce further material.
Sudale admitted charges including inciting a minor into sexual activity, blackmail, making indecent images of children, possessing extreme pornographic material and possessing prohibited images of minors. Passing sentence, Judge John Kelson described Sudale as a predator shark who hunted children swimming in the dark waters of the internet.
Pownall added that although the number of people involved in Com groups is relatively small, the consequences for victims are serious and long-lasting, as Sudale's actions demonstrate.
