Prolific predator Anthony Burns jailed for blackmailing women

Prosecutors said Anthony Burns was a "controlling and manipulative sexual predator"

A "persistent and devious" online predator who blackmailed women into depraved sexual acts and child abuse has been jailed for 24 years.

Anthony Burns, formerly of Lowestoft in Suffolk, controlled and coerced 35 women and young girls but investigators believe he targeted as many as 600.

He met most of his victims on so-called sugar daddy websites or dating apps, using different identifies.

The youngest was just seven years old who was abused by her coerced mother.

Burns' web of victims included women living in the UK, US and Australia, with the majority of them from England, Birmingham Crown Court heard.

The National Crime Agency (NCA) said Burns was a "pupil" of prolific sexual blackmailer Abdul Elahi, who perpetrated some of the most serious offending it had ever investigated.

Elahi, who targeted almost 2,000 victims, tutored him on the psychology of blackmail, including techniques to help gain the trust of victims, and provided instruction on how they would respond to threats and what to say to them, the agency said.

Burns, who had previous child abuse convictions, admitted 39 offences offences and was found guilty at a trial of two counts of causing a girl under the age of 13 to engage in sexual activity.

Two offences were jointly committed with Elahi, from Sparkhill in Birmingham, who received a 32-year sentence in 2021.

Burns was already categorised as a "high risk offender" following previous convictions, but continued to prey on women despite being under supervision,

'Cruel streak'

Eight women faced the 39-year-old in court on Thursday as part of a two-day sentencing.

Some of the abused were in tears as Burns was told how he had ripped their lives apart, leaving them distrustful of men and frightened to use social media.

Burns sat with his head bowed in the dock as Judge Sarah Buckingham sentenced him to a 24-year custodial term and an extended five-year period on licence.

"Your offending took place over a two-and-a-half-year period," she said.

"You did not care about the anguish you caused and had complete disregard for your victims' suffering."

He was someone who was "arrogant with a deep-seated cruel streak" and had caused "immense harm and distress", she added.

One offence saw Burns pose as an NCA investigator to torment the mother of one of Elahi's victims, which had been particularly unpleasant, the judge said.

Sophie Goodhall said she was left fearful in her own home after encountering Burns

Many of his victims said they had had contemplated taking their own lives after being blackmailed into increasingly perverse acts, the court heard.

Burns would pose as a modelling agent before making contact with women on WhatsApp and asking them to send sexual photos.

Using different identifies, phone numbers and profile photos, he would offer them money and go on to screen-record video calls and threaten to share images with the victims' loved ones unless they sent more and more explicit and degrading material.

Prosecutor Temple-Mabe told the court on Thursday that Elahi and Burns took delight in messaging victims simultaneously.

She said Burns would sometimes receive messages from his mother and girlfriend at the same time he recorded people performing live sex acts over WhatsApp.

Sophie Goodall, who waived her right to anonymity to talk about the case following Burns being sentenced, said he used various numbers to contact her.

He found her address on the Companies House website leaving her fearful he would attempt to attack her.

She did not share any sexual images but said the experience had left her feeling violated in her own home.

"I was really terrified that he was going to murder me," she said.

Abdul Elahi was jailed for 32 years in 2021 for his "sickening" and "abhorrent" sexual abuse

Another victim told the court she had suffered fainting spells and seizures link to poor mental health and sometimes experienced temporary paralysis.

A third explained she was diagnosed with cancer shortly after her ordeal and recalled thinking she would not mind if it killed her.

Carly, whose name we have changed to protect her identity, said the years of waiting for justice had been "exhausting".

She told the BBC: "He is very meticulous in what he has done - he's a very dangerous individual and the grand scale of what he's done proves that.

"My outlook on life and trust in people has drastically changed, it took a long time to start getting that back.

"It will take years but I am in recovery and I think most of us are, which is a nice thing to see."

'Revolting offender'

Among the locations Burns' victims live are: Aberdeen, Australia, Birmingham, Bournemouth, Braintree, Canterbury, Channel Islands, Clacton-on-Sea, Colchester, Coventry, Dartford, Huddersfield, Kettering, London, Luton, Nottingham, Oxford, Peterborough, Plymouth, Runcorn, Spalding, Sunbury-on-Thames, Swindon, Trowbridge and the US.

Burns' devices were seized after he was arrested in 2019 following an investigation which included assistance from the FBI and involvement with authorities in New Zealand.

NCA operations manager Robert Slater said he was "a revolting sexual offender".

"My first thoughts go out to his victims, many of whom showed immense courage by providing vital evidence to secure his conviction," he said.

"The control he sought over them, some of whom were young children, was sinister, manipulative and heartless."

Burns' devices were seized after he was arrested following an investigation which included assistance from the FBI

Mitigating, Hugh Forgan told the court Burns had suffered a traumatic early life and was living with his mother at the time of the offences.

The defence barrister explained Burns, who had attempted to take his own life in custody, suffered from depressive illness, paedophilic disorder and pornography addiction.

Bethany Raine, from the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said he had an "obsessive interest" in controlling women and children to perform degrading sexual acts online.

"Burns belittled and humiliated women. They became trapped in a web of fear where their own images became tools of manipulation and extortion, leaving them vulnerable to his depraved demands," she said.