Former East Sussex holiday camp manager admits child sex offences

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Cameron OsmanImage source, National Crime Agency
Image caption,

Cameron Osman used the online alias Lizzielemon to contact boys, police said

A former holiday camp manager has pleaded guilty to 36 sexual offences against boys who he met online.

Cameron Osman, 44, posed as a 16-year-old girl to incite sexual acts and engage in sexualised chat, the National Crime Agency (NCA) said.

Osman, from Southampton, was arrested in 2021 shortly after resigning from his job at PGL's Windmill Hill adventure centre in East Sussex.

He is due to be sentenced at St Albans Crown Court on 30 June.

Image source, Google
Image caption,

Osman worked at Windmill Mill adventure centre but did not groom children there, police said

Police said they found no evidence of Osman grooming children at the activity centre near Herstmonceux.

The defendant, who used the online alias Lizzielemon, found victims on Instagram, teenage dating website MyLol and flirting site LoveCrush, the NCA said.

Osman contacted 76 boys from across the UK who were aged between 12 and 16 in 2020 and 2021, the NCA said.

Investigators in the USA also discovered sexualised chat with underage boys in 27 countries, the agency reported.

'Callous predator'

Osman, of Coniston Road, pleaded guilty to charges including causing or inciting boys to engage in sexual activity, St Albans Crown Court said.

He also admitted attempting to incite a girl to engage in sexual activity, sexual and attempted sexual communication, inciting sexual exploitation and making indecent images of children, the court added.

Victims lived in locations including Greater London, Cardiff, Glasgow, Belfast, Luton, Portsmouth, Oxford, Chatham, Norwich, Braintree, Hull, Plymouth, Southampton, Bournemouth, Kettering, Slough and Worcester, police said.

NCA operations manager Danielle Pownall said: "Cameron Osman callously preyed on vulnerable teenage boys, masquerading as a teenage girl for his own sexual gratification.

"I have no doubt, if we had not stopped Osman he would have gone on to commit more severe offending.

In a statement, PGL said: "The National Crime Agency has confirmed that none of these charges relate to guests at our centre.

"The safety and security of our guests is of paramount importance and all of our employees are subject to stringent safeguarding checks, including enhanced DBS clearance before and during employment.

"All such checks and clearances were in place for this individual."

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