A Penwortham man who awarded points to underage girls as they performed sexual acts online is now in prison.
AdvertisementStefan Bull, 27, of Gaskell Road, Penwortham, was sentenced at Preston Crown Court yesterday, Thursday September 23, for a number of offences committed using the online chat website Omegle.
Bull used the website to encourage underage girls to perform sexual acts. The more sexualised, the more ‘points’ he would award the victims.
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In October 2019, West Yorkshire Police received a report of two videos showing lewd behaviour. Officers conducted enquiries with Omegle and traced the internet address to Bull’s then home address in Preston.
Police executed a warrant in January 2020, with Bull’s devices examined. Police found over 200 videos on his laptop, with the footage time-stamped between December 2011 and December 2012.
In the majority of the videos, Bull played a game with the victims, encouraging them to perform sexualised acts on camera. Bull screen recorded the chats, with all the victims believed to be aged under 18.
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Bull received a court summons to appear at court for offences including:
Bull pleaded guilty and received three years and four months in prison. He is on the sex offenders register indefinitely and received a Sexual Harm Prevention Order restricting his use of the internet and contact with children upon his release.
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Det Insp Chris Wellard of Lancashire Police’s Child Protection Unit said: “Bull’s actions were abhorrent, predatory and depraved.
“He encouraged his victims to commit a number of increasingly lewd acts, based on a ‘points system’, all for his own sickening sexual gratification.
“Bull admitted possession of the videos during his police interview, taking full responsibility. He claimed he was much younger and less mature, but this does not excuse the crimes he committed against innocent victims, and we welcome his imprisonment.
“Protecting the public, especially children, from harm and abuse is an absolute priority for Lancashire Constabulary. With our partners, we will continue to proactively target offenders who use the internet to view or exchange indecent images of children and help safeguard those children who have become, or are at risk of becoming, victims.”
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