Sick 'catfish' who pretended to be 14 sexually assaulted 41 children

A "predator" paedophile has been jailed for 14 years for child sex offences against 39 young girls. Unemployed Stuart Latham, 22, raped one youngster aged 12 and targeted hundreds of others through "catfishing" - creating a fake online persona, posing as 14-year-old "Josh" on Snapchat.

He preyed on girls, sometimes offering £200 for "nude" images or persuading others to send indecent images and videos then threatened to reveal them online if they did not do as he wished, Preston Crown Court heard. Latham physically abused two youngsters and committed dozens of offences online against the other 37, the court heard - all aged between 12 and 15, who lived across the UK.

The defendant, who made no reaction as he was jailed, watched by two of his victims from the public gallery, amassed around 4,000 indecent images, many from blackmailing his victims.

He pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to rape, blackmail and multiple counts of engaging in sexual communications, causing or engaging in sexual activity with a child, making and distributing indecent photographs and possessing extreme pornography.

All the offences were committed between 2023 and 2024.

Jailing him, Judge Philip Parry said: "You are a highly dangerous individual, you are a predatory sexual offender with little to no empathy or remorse.

"It is no exaggeration to say, you have left emotional wreckage in your wake as a result of the offending you committed against multiple young girls."

He was initially arrested in December 2023 after his first victim told the authorities she was in a sexual relationship with Latham, who she believed was aged 15. Latham then went on to abuse his first victim's friend.

Both girls were sat in court as the defendant was sentenced.

After he was taken from the dock, Judge Parry addressed the two tearful victims, who held hands, sat alongside their families.

He said: "You are incredibly brave. I don't know many adults who would be brave enough to do what you did.

"No child or adult should blame themselves.

"You should all be proud of yourselves as you move forward. You have all beaten him. He has not won."

Latham treated his activities as a job, spending day after day online at the home he shared with his parents in Wigan, detectives said.

An NSPCC spokesperson said: "Latham deceived dozens of girls into sending him indecent images of themselves - blackmailing some of his victims and sexually abusing two of them in person.

"Child sexual abuse can have a devasting impact on victims and it is vital that all the children involved in this case have access to the support they need to help them recover and move forwards with their lives.

"The scale and nature of Latham's offending, and ease by which he carried it out, are extremely disturbing. Social media firms need to do so much more to protect children from harm, ensuring that offenders like Latham are prevented from using their platforms to abuse young people."