Vile online Leeds predator called himself 'Epstein' to groom children across the world
More than 100 potential victims found following major investigation
A predatory teenager who called himself “Epstein” after the disgraced paedophile, was found to be grooming youngsters across the world.
Vile Justin Swaddle spent months targeting children online, persuading them to send him explicit photos of themselves, and even tried to blackmail a teenager into sending nude photos.
The scale of his offending became so vast that an initial West Yorkshire Police investigation was taken on by the National Crime Agency.
He admitted nine offences at Leeds Crown Court this morning and received a jail sentence.
The judge described him as a “predatory shark, swimming in the dark waters of the internet”.
The court was told that indecent images being shared online were brought to West Yorkshire Police’s attention in March 2023, linked to an IP address at Swaddle’s home on Sherbourne Drive, Meanwood, where he lives with his parents.
Officers went to his address where he told them: “I believe you are here to see me.”
They seized his devices but he was not arrested at the time. An analysis of those devices found that he had several online user names, including Epstein - named after Jeffrey Epstein, the infamous American child-sex offender.
Swaddle was arrested in August 2023 and more devices seized. He then gave a no-comment interview. He was only 17 at the time and required an adult witness with him.
Swaddle was later bailed, prosecutor Sam Roxborough said.
The NCA took over the investigation in early 2024 after it became clear he had been contact with children across the globe, possibly more than 100.
It was found that he had forced one 13-year-old girl to write “Epstein owns this body” on herself.
Another girl, possibly in the USA, was asked to send him pics of herself, and told her to call him “Daddy Epstein”.
A third victim sent him photos of her licking a toilet seat.
From a fourth he requested naked photos, but when she refused he threatened to “leak” her to others, after she had requested child-abuse material from Swaddle.
At one point he warned her: “You have three minutes to get naked.”
Officers also found images on his devices of children between the age of three and 17, being abused. There was a mixture of 132 pictures and videos.
Swaddle, who is now 20, admitted three counts of inciting children to engage in sexual activity, three of possessing indecent images, one of blackmail, possessing an extreme pornographic images and one of possessing prohibited images.
He has no previous convictions.
Mitigating, Jane Brady said he had entered early guilty pleas and pointed to his lack of previous offending.
She said he has been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and added: “He became isolated with no social interactions outside the family group which led to his mental health deteriorating.
“It led to suicidal ideation.”
She said Swaddle had “genuine remorse”, was in his second years of a degree and added: “I submit he will never be before the courts again.”
Judge Peter Kelson KC said there was “clear depravity” and told Swaddle: “This is a serious case in the extreme. You were shown to be a predatory shark, preying on children for a period of time swimming in the dark waters of the internet.
“The courts have a duty to protect children. It would not be appropriate to suspend the sentence.”
He jailed Swaddle for two years, gave him a 10-year sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) to curb his internet use and put him on the sex offender register for 10 years.
Speaking after the case Danielle Pownall operations manager from the National Crime Agency, said: "Justin Swaddle targeted young and vulnerable victims all over the world to abuse and scare them into carrying out shocking self-harm and sexual activity, purely to gain popularity with his peers online.
"He gained the trust of his victims, before collecting private information about them so he could threaten to share their intimate images or report them to their school or parents to incite further content.
"While the number of people involved in Com groups are relatively small, the impact it has on victims is high and long-lasting, as Swaddle's offending shows.
"We are extremely grateful for the assistance of West Yorkshire Police, our international partners and specialist prosecutors at the CPS in bringing a dangerous offender to justice.
"The NCA is coordinating the response to Com groups in the UK, working with a range of law enforcement, health and safeguarding partners to better understand pathways into offending and identify opportunities for prevention and intervention."