A pedophile who posed as a lady to engage youngsters younger than 13 in sexual behavior was sentenced to 18 years in prison.
Jonathan Woodward, 22, from Ashford, Kent, posed as a lady on phony social media accounts to attract children from all over the world into online sexual encounters, which he then recorded.
The pervert employed software to locate the residences of his teenage victims, then blackmailed and threatened them with their homes in order to obtain more explicit content.
The police investigated Woodward last year after he was reported for allegedly possessing an indecent image of a child on his cellphone.
Jonathan Woodward (pictured), 22, from Ashford, Kent, posed as a lady on phony social media accounts to attract children from all over the world into online sexual encounters, which he then recorded.
When authorities raided the paedophile’s residence, he was detained and various electronic gadgets were taken from him.
Between 2015 and 2021, several of his victims were very young children whom he assaulted.
Yesterday, he pled guilty to 39 counts of child sex abuse and was sentenced to 18 years in prison by the Guildford Crown Court.
Woodward must serve two-thirds of his 18-year sentence and receive an eight-year license extension upon his release.
Judge Rufus Taylor, in passing sentence on Woodward, described him as “the worst I’ve seen in some time.”
The sexual offender was charged with two counts of raping a minor and twenty counts of causing or persuading a minor to participate in sexual behavior.
Yesterday, he pleaded guilty to 39 counts of child sex abuse and was sentenced to 18 years in prison at Guildford Crown Court (pictured).
Woodward was additionally charged with 14 counts of encouraging or persuading a minor to participate in sexual conduct and with creating indecent photos of a child, including the most explicit category A material as well as category B and C material.
In addition, he was given a permanent Sexual Harm Prevention Order, which prohibits him from having unsupervised contact with children and from possessing electronic devices on which he can keep photographs unless authorities can review them.
The Paedophile Online Investigation Team’s Detective Inspector Antony Preston lauded the courageous young victims who came forward to help apprehend the monstrous offender.
Today, he stated, “Woodward’s actions have affected innumerable lives, and I’d like to take this occasion to spotlight the bravery and heroism of these young victims, who helped put this man behind bars for a very long period.”
“I would advise anyone who use social media to speak out if they feel threatened or intimidated online, either through online reporting mechanisms or by contacting the police to report such behavior.”
This inquiry and sentence demonstrate that such despicable behavior has no place in society. We shall strive tirelessly to guarantee that sexual abusers of children are held accountable for their misdeeds.
If you have been a victim of child sex abuse and are reading this, I invite you to contact us. We will do everything possible to assist you.’