A Surrey man has been jailed after using a fake profile to encourage teenage boys to perform sex acts and send them to him online. Ryan Stone posed as a young woman named Isabella to groom a number of boys aged 11 to 17 years old for his own sexual gratification.
Surrey Police tracked him down after a number of referrals from the National Crime Agency (NCA), between July and August 2021, about a suspect who had used a fake persona to communicate with boys online. Stone, then 18 years old, persuaded his victims to film sex acts which he would then screen record before storing the videos and images electronically.
He was charged with 15 offences which included inciting a child to engage in sexual activity under the Sexual Offences Act of 2003, and making indecent images of children under the Protection of Children Act of 1978. Stone, now 21 years old, from Godalming, was sentenced to three years in prison for 15 offences which included inciting a child to engage in sexual activity and making indecent images of children at Guildford Crown Court on Friday January 3.
Detective Constable Connor Leney, from Surrey Police’s Paedophile Online Investigation Team, said: "Stone purposely groomed children online for his own sexual gain without any consideration of the lasting impact it may have on them. It is cases like this which show why it is so important to be aware of fake profiles and to have conversations with children about who they might be talking to online."
Det Con Leney also included some advice for parents. He added: "Red flags for fake profiles include having no profile image, any requests for sexual images, requesting video calls from you but not showing their own face, or if your child is becoming secretive with their phone. If you have any concerns or suspect grooming is taking place, trust your instincts and report it immediately to police and to the social media platform."
If you are worried about what your children get up to when they are online, and would like to learn more about how to keep your child safe online, you can visit the Surrey County Council's page on this issue here.
You can contact Surrey Police in relation to crimes such as these by calling 999 for an immediate response in an emergency, or if it is not an emergency calling 101, using the force's online reporting tool here, or by contacting officers via Webchat.
