Treorchy man jailed for grooming children on social media

A 19-year-old man who befriended children on social media before manipulating and blackmailing them into sending explicit images has been sentenced to eight years detention. ⚖️📱

Cory Jones, of Rees Street, Treorchy, pleaded guilty to 69 offences including sexual communication with a child, blackmail, and possession of indecent images. He targeted victims aged between 10 and 16 on Snapchat, gaining their trust through mutual friends before his conversations quickly became explicitly sexual.

Cardiff Crown Court heard how Jones blackmailed victims by threatening to post messages they had already sent online if they didn’t send anything new. Police found 172 indecent images of children on his phone after his arrest.

The court heard harrowing victim impact statements. One mother said: “When the police came around I felt awful that I didn’t know what had happened to her. Once the police explained things to me I felt upset and anger all the time. There was a lot to process. I worry about how she’s dealing with this. I know that she will open up when she’s ready but I worry she will never open up to me.”

A father told the court: “I feel angry and I feel as a parent that I have let her down and failed. I remember when the police came to our house. I had never felt anger like that in my life and my family had never seen me so upset.”

Lisa McCarthy of the Crown Prosecution Service said: “Cory Jones was deceptive and manipulative, coercing children to engage in acts to satisfy his own sexual gratification and blackmailing some by threatening to publish sexually exploitative images on social media when they refused. This was a substantial and complex investigation, with the number of child victims quite shocking.”

Detective Inspector Stuart Prendiville stated: “Corey Jones deliberately targeted young women on social media, lying about his age and employing manipulative, deceptive tactics. His exploitation of vulnerable children for his own sexual gratification is a stark reminder of the dangers that exist online. Let this serve as a warning that such predatory behaviour will not be tolerated, and that we must remain vigilant in protecting our children.”

Jones will serve two thirds of his sentence (five years and four months) in detention before being released. He has also been placed on the sexual offenders register for life and given a lifelong sexual harm prevention order.

Judge Jeremy Jenkins thanked the families present for their dignity in court, adding: “It could not have been easy for any of you to listen to that and you did that in respectful silence. The court is very grateful for that.”