An
online sexual predator, who incited a nine year-old girl to expose
herself on popular youth site Live.Me, has been locked-up for four
years.
Almost
300 users of the live streaming app witnessed the victim revealing
intimate parts of her body while encouraged by 28 year-old Glen
Friend.
He
pleaded guilty at Snaresbrook Crown Court to inciting the girl to
engage in sexual activity and breaching a Sexual Harm Prevention
Order.
The
east Londoner was also handed a two-year extended supervision order,
which he will be subject to on his release from custody.
The
case is believed to be one of the Metropolitan Police's first
successful convictions relating to misuse of the highly successful
'Live.Me' app to gain access to young children in a bid to groom
them.
The
app is one of the fastest growing of its type worldwide and users
have limited control over who views their posts/videos.
Friend
was arrested as he left prison having served time for breaching sex
offender notification requirements.
He
was caught after an intelligence-led operation directed officers to
the fact that he was engaging with a young female user on the Live.Me
service.
The
Sexual Harm Prevention Order that Friend was subject to expressly
forbade him to communicate with any individual under 18 years of age
via social media/the internet.
During
May Friend was heavily involved, along with a number of other users,
in encouraging the girl into the sexual actions.
Detective
Sergeant Fenton Davis, from the Waltham Forest Jigsaw Unit, said:
"This
application is extremely well used by children.
“Those
who register seek to gain 'likes' and 'electronic gifts' from other
users.
“The
more they receive, the higher their status within that online
community.
"Glen
Friend is a predatory sexual offender, who targeted a vulnerable
victim via this app.
“Offenders
who seek to hide behind an online username in an attempt to hide
their identity will be relentlessly pursued by investigators.
"We
would like to thank South Yorkshire Police for their assistance with
our investigation in helping to identify the child concerned.
"The
amount of damage this type of encounter causes to these very young
victims can be extensive.
“It
became apparent from our talks with the girl in this case that she is
easily upset and very sensitive after what she has gone through.
"Parents
should be ever vigilant of their child's activity on social media
sites, particularly in regard to video streaming apps.
"This
conviction clearly demonstrates that people who use these streaming
sites for criminal means, in particular to commit sexual offences,
will be tracked down and prosecuted for their actions.”
Live.Me
removed the footage at the request of the police, who are continuing
to identify the other users.
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