Child abuser posing as girl online blackmailed boys for photos

Jay Lang's barrister told the judge he apologised to "each and every victim"

A man who posed as a teenage girl on social media to extract indecent images from young boys before blackmailing them has been jailed for 21 years.

Jay Lang, 24, of Canvey Island, Essex, targeted at least 26 victims aged between 11 and 16.

He drove one boy to a secluded location and sexually abused him.

Police said they identified 220 potential victims and a judge at Basildon Crown Court hailed their investigation as a "tour de force".

"You are a predatory, manipulative and dangerous young man," said Judge Samantha Cohen.

"You have wreaked havoc through the lives of 26 young men and their families."

Prosecutor Marc Brown told the court Lang set up accounts on Snapchat and Instagram using a pseudonym.

He would incite victims into sending him indecent videos and photos, and unbeknown to them, the defendant used a screen-recording app to save the images and use them to blackmail the boys.

After revealing himself as a man, he threatened to publish images if they did not send him cash and demanded £2,000 from one victim.

He blackmailed one boy into filming himself performing a sex act with a male friend, the court heard, and in some cases he published images of the victims.

The offences took place over the course of three years starting in 2019, and in November 2021, one of the victims contacted police.

Officers said they found 540 videos and 140,000 images on the defendant's phone.

One victim, who was driven to an isolated location in a van and sexually abused, said he experienced suicidal thoughts on a daily basis.

Apology to victims

Lang admitted 46 offences at an earlier hearing, including causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, blackmail and causing or inciting child sexual exploitation.

The defendant was in a long-term relationship at the time of the offending.

He was made subject to an indefinite sexual harm prevention order and ordered to sign the sex offenders register for the rest of his life.

The defendant mouthed "thank you" to the judge as he was led from the secure dock to the cells.

Nick Bonehill, mitigating, said Lang apologised to "each and every victim".

Essex Police said it was the largest child exploitation investigation in the force's history.