Man jailed after sending nude Snapchat of teen to her mother

James O'Neill, 49, from west Belfast will spend a year in prison after pleading guilty to the offences

A man who sent an indecent image of a 16-year-old girl to her own mother on Instagram has been jailed for 12 months.

James O'Neill, of Cluain Mor Drive in west Belfast, will also spend a further 12 months on licence following his release to deal with his "concerning" interest in children.

The 49-year-old had previously pleaded guilty to nine counts of making indecent photographs of a child.

O'Neill also admitted to three further offences of possessing extreme pornographic images of children and threatening to disclose a sexual image.

Fake accounts made

In November 2018, a 16-year-old from England became distressed after nude photographs of her were leaked on messaging app, Snapchat.

Belfast Crown Court heard that O'Neill, who was not known to the victim and was 42 at the time of the offences, contacted her within minutes of the photos being uploaded to ask her age. He was told she was 16.

She blocked O'Neill, but he continued to create new accounts despite being told by the teenager to leave her alone.

"At one point he asked her to be in a relationship with him but she repeatedly refused and he created 100 separate accounts despite being told by the victim to leave him alone," the prosecution lawyer said.

O'Neill also obtained her mobile number, and sent her a message asking her to marry him.

Videos showing 'horrific' abuse

Two years later, in October 2020, the victim said O'Neill became more hostile and aggressive, threatening to hurt her and post her pictures.

He then sent the nude pictures to her mother's Instagram account, and threatened the mother and sister that more pictures would be leaked.

Police in London were contacted, and O'Neill was later arrested by the PSNI in March 2021.

His devices were seized, and more than 200 indecent images and 50 videos were later discovered. In the most extreme category, about 20 images and 26 videos were recovered, with some of the videos showing children aged between four and 10 being "horrifically" abused.

The court heard in police interviews O'Neill denied the offences and that he could not account for the images on his phone.

Defending the 49-year-old, a barrister said he had not been in trouble before, and needed "professional help" to deal with his alcohol dependency.

"The kind of behaviour we are dealing with is very serious. He appears to have developed a fixation with this particular individual and he kept making it worse and worse," the barrister added.

'No remorse shown'

A judge told O'Neill his behaviour caused "fear, embarrassment and degradation" to his young victim.

A pre-sentence report also said he was still in denial over his offences.

"There is no remorse or insight shown by the defendant into his offending and despite his pleas he does not accept responsibility," the judge said.

"The children depicted in these images are suffering horrific abuse and are being further victimised by each viewing of them by people like you gaining pleasure from it.''

O'Neill was ordered to sign the sex offenders register for 10 years, with a Sexual Offences Prevention Order (SOPO) made against him for five years.

The court also ordered for the seized material to be destroyed.