Former soldier jailed for 24 years for online sexploitation against West Yorkshire children
A former soldier stationed has been jailed for 24 years after admitting more than 80 offences related to online child sexual abuse and exploitation offences.
Austen Tobias, who was based at Dishforth Airfield, was caught attempting to extort sexual imagery from a child and arrested in November 2022.
It was found that offending was on a prolific scale, with victims in West Yorkshire and other areas of the country, including Scotland, London, and Sussex. Victims were left “shaking in fear” and one even tried to take his own life.
Fleming was sentenced at Leeds Crown Court this week.
The 28-year-old set up multiple fake social media profiles, including posing as females , and was grooming children to send indecent images and videos of themselves.
He would covertly record his interactions with them to use as leverage to extort further explicit material from his victims.
When the children refused, Fleming would threaten to share the images already sent with their loved ones or send small payments or vouchers to illicit more indecent material from his victims.
Fleming was further arrested on suspicion of making indecent images of children and facilitating a child sex offence. He was interviewed and bailed while the investigation continued.
The investigation established that Fleming’s offending stemmed from December 2020 to January 2023, detailing his long-standing interest in child sexual abuse material.
With evidence mounting, Fleming was re-arrested in December 2024 for multiple offences including blackmail, causing a child to engage in sexual activity, causing the exploitation of a child, and distributing indecent images of children.
He answered no comment to all the questions put to him during the police interview including those relating to the disturbing victims’ accounts of his offending.
One victim was so badly traumatised by the threats made by Fleming that he attempted to take his own life.
The youngest of Fleming’s many victims was aged just 10 and the oldest only 17.
Fleming, of Stirling Road, Kilsyth, North Lanarkshire, Scotland, was charged with 25 counts of an adult inciting a child to engage in sexual activity of a non-penetrative nature and 23 counts of causing sexual exploitation of a child to transmit an indecent image of themselves.
He also faced five counts of an adult inciting a child to engage in sexual activity with penetration, five counts of making unwarranted demands with menaces, two of intentionally causing a child to look at sexual activity and one count of obtaining the sexual services of a child by payment.
Fleming also admitted 22 counts of making indecent images.
In addition to the 24-year jail term, the judge gave Fleming an extended sentence with an additional three years to serve on licence.
He was also given an indefinite sexual harm prevention order and must sign the sex offenders register for life.
Detective Constable Tom Sutcliffe from the Online Child Abuse Team, who led the investigation, said: “This has been a large-scale investigation involving constabularies in Scotland, England and Wales. Their support has been crucial in obtaining accounts from the many victims of Fleming.
“It has also required collaborative safeguarding working involving social services across the UK to ensure the young people involved receive the support that they need.
“I have nothing but praise for the continued bravery of the victims.”
DC Sutcliffe added: “Fleming is clearly a depraved offender who poses a significant danger to young people especially. He now faces a long time in prison and will be robustly monitored by the authorities for the rest of his life.”