Man posed as girl, 12, to demand indecent images

Dominic Woodcock, 20, posed as a 12-year-old girl to threaten children to send indecent images

A man who police said posed as a12-year-old girl named Chloe to entice young children to send indecent images has been jailed.

Pretending to be a part of a gymnastics club, Dominic Woodcock, 20, preyed on girls aged 10 to 12 and encouraged them to also pursue the sport.

Under the guise, he set up fake profiles on social media to befriend his victims between 2021 and 2023.

He has been sentenced to four years and eight months in prison after appearing at Birmingham Crown Court earlier this month.

Woodcock from Erdington had pleaded guilty to possession of indecent images and engaging children into sexual activity.

After building a rapport with his victims, he asked the girls for indecent images and threatened to expose them on social media if they refused, West Midlands Police said.

During his arrest, officers seized his phone and found concerning images and messages.

As well as his sentence, he had also been put on the sex offenders register for life.

Det Con Justin Mulholland said: "This was despicable behaviour which would have continued had we not managed to identify and arrest Woodcock.

"He posed as a girl called Chloe and took advantage of young children to satisfy his own depraved desires.

"We believe there could be more young girls who were exposed to his wicked ways and we'd ask anyone who suspects their child may have been targeted to report this to us."