Vindictive Beal sex offender blackmailed girl, 12

James Webber manipulated and blackmailed a 12-year-old child to send explicit images of herself to him, police said

A man described by police as "twisted and vindictive" has been jailed for 13 years for child sex offences.

James Webber, 39, from Beal, near Selby, was found guilty after a trial of blackmailing a 12-year-old girl into sending explicit images of herself.

He was also convicted of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and possessing indecent images of children.

He was sentenced at York Crown Court on Friday.

North Yorkshire Police said Webber had told his victim he knew where she lived and threatened to hurt her family if she did not send explicit images of herself to him via SnapChat.

The force said when the girl later refused to send further images Webber "callously distributed them to others", causing "significant harm to the victim's mental health and wellbeing".

'Incredible bravery'

Following his arrest, several devices belonging to Webber were seized by police and found to contain more than 400 indecent images and videos of children.

Investigators said Webber, of Hollygarth Lane, had continued to create SnapChat accounts in the days before his arrest and had deleted the app from his phone "less than a minute before he was taken into custody for questioning".

Det Con Jenna Hallewell, said: "Webber denied the offences, showing no remorse for the twisted and vindictive behaviour against his victim that still impacts on her to this day."

She went on to pay tribute to the victim saying she had shown "incredible bravery" in coming forward.

"Her courage means that Webber is no longer free to target and victimise children for his own pleasure," she added.