13 years’ imprisonment for Beal man James Michael David Webber who blackmailed 12-year-old girl into sending explicit images via SnapChat

A man from Beal, near Selby, has today (Friday 16 February 2024) been jailed for 13 years after being found guilty of child sex offences and blackmail.

James Michael David Webber (pictured below), 39, of Hollygarth Lane, was found guilty at York Crown Court on 24 July of seven offences including blackmail; two counts of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity; three counts of possession of indecent images of children and possession of extreme pornography.

The court heard how, in May 2020, Webber manipulated and blackmailed a 12-year-old child to send explicit images of herself to him via SnapChat.

He threatened to harm her family as he claimed he could see where she lived as her location was visible through the app.

When the victim refused to send him further images, Webber callously distributed these images to others.

This caused significant harm to the victim’s mental health and wellbeing, the impact of which she will likely have to deal with for years.

The child in this case showed incredible courage to come forward and contact police.

Webber was quickly located from his IP address.

Devices seized from Webber also located 97 Category A, the worst kind of indecent images and videos of children, 149 Category B indecent images of children, 144 Category C indecent images of children, and four extreme pornography images and videos. 

The court heard how Webber was continuing to create SnapChat accounts just days before his arrest.

And while officers attended his address to carry out the arrest, he deleted the SnapChat app from his phone less than a minute before he was taken into custody for questioning.

A key component of this investigation involved North Yorkshire Police’s Digital Forensic Team who examined Webber's devices and uncovered the evidence to prove his guilt. 

Officer in charge of the case, DC Jenna Hallewell, said:

“Webber denied the offences, showing no remorse for the twisted and vindictive behaviour against his victim that still impacts on her to this day.

“I’d like to pay tribute to the victim and her bravery in coming forward which has been incredible. Her courage means that Webber is no longer free to target and victimise children for his own pleasure.

“It is important that victims of such crimes come forward to assist police in locating perpetrators to put a stop to online abuse against children.”

Seeking further support, advice and ways of reporting sexual abuse

To report or seek help at about online sexual abuse:

• Please contact North Yorkshire Police on 101. If you are in immediate danger, always dial 999 for an emergency response
• Crimestoppers – 0800 55511 – crimestoppers-uk.org– anonymous reporting
• Child Exploitation Online Protection command (CEOP)- http://ceop.police.uk/
• Internet Watch Foundation- https://www.iwf.org.uk/
• Marie Collins Foundation - https://www.mariecollinsfoundation.org.uk/ – support for children and young people who have been abused via the internet and mobile technologies
• Stop it Now! – https://www.stopitnow.org.uk/– Helpline 0808 1000 900 – confidential help and support for people who concerned about their or someone else’s thoughts and behaviour towards children
• Victims who would prefer not to go direct to the police and are not in immediate danger, can contact Bridge House, North Yorkshire’s Sexual Assault Referral Centre(SARC), on 0330 223 0362, email [email protected]or go to org/
• You can also contact the Supporting Victims in North Yorkshire at https://www.supportingvictims.org/ or call 01609 643100
• NSPCC Helplines: Anyone concerned about a child can contact the NSPCC Helpline for advice on0808 8005000; Adult victims of non-recent sexual abuse can also get in touch for support; Childline is available for young people on 0800 1111