A PREDATORY paedophile was able to exploit a legal loophole to target young teenage girls after being released from prison.

Jonathan Duffy, of Sinnet Court, off Southfield Road, East Oxford, has been jailed for blackmailing 11 victims into stripping off onan online video messaging service.

The 33-year-old, who was studying sports science at Oxford Brookes University, had been convicted in 2010 of having sex with a 15-year-old girl while he was a teaching assistant in Middlesex. He was handed a 16-month jail term.

But despite being mostly banned from contacting young people by a Sexual Offences Prevention Order handed down by Judge Graham Arran, he was not prevented from communicating with them over the Internet.

And the order made in Harrow Crown Court did not prohibit Duffy from sending online messages, even though he had previously used Facebook and MSN messenger to contact his victim.

But Judge Patrick Eccles sitting at Oxford Crown Court, has now heard how, in November and December last year, Duffy ordered 13 and 14-year-old girls to undress for him in front of a webcam.

Duffy even threatened to post his victims’ details on porn sites and Facebook if they refused.

Cathy Olliver, prosecuting on Thursday, said he had “exploited a loophole” in his court order and could have been in contact with many other girls. In chat logs recovered by the police, one of the girls accused him of “blackmailing” her, while another told him she would kill herself if he carried out his threat.

Duffy also targeted a vulnerable 14-year-old who had previously been sexually abused.

Another girl was convinced to meet Duffy for sex, although he never went through with the meeting.

He was caught after one of his victims, a 13-year-old girl, reported him to the Child Exploitation and Online Protection team.

A NSPCC spokesman said the justice system “must keep up the pace” with technology to avoid this type of offence.

He added: “We would hope that anyone with a conviction for sexual offences against children would be monitored closely and banned from n Continued from page 1 contact with them, including over the internet.”

Officers also recovered a total of 930 indecent images of children Duffy was keeping on two laptops and a portable hard drive.

Peter Lowndes, defending, said his client was consumed by “self loathing” because of his obsession with under-age girls.

He said: “He is filled with self-hatred and embarrassment, but none the less has been completely open with his family and the police.”

He added that in an effort to break his habit Duffy had attended a sex addicts anonymous meeting and had dismantled his computer.

Passing sentence Judge Eccles told the defendant he had committed “predatory sexual offences” against young teenagers.

Duffy admitted 11 counts of inciting children to take part in sexual activity and three counts of possessing indecent images of children.

He sentenced Duffy to 40 months in prison and said he would serve two thirds of it in prison and be on licence for a further two years after the end of his sentence.

A new sexual offences prevention order was made which also covers the internet.

Harrow Crown Court confirmed that His Honour Judge Graham Arran handed down the original order in 2010 but would not provide the Oxford Mail with a copy when requested.

The London branch of the Crown Prosecution Service declined to comment when approached by the Oxford Mail.

It said it would investigate the matter.

KEY ADVICE FOR PARENTS

  • Advice for parents from the government’s Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre: l Be involved in your child’s online life. Talk to them about what they’re doing, if they know you understand they are more likely to approach you if they need support.
  • Set boundaries in the online world just as you would in the real world. Think about what they might see, what they share, who they talk to and how long they spend online.
  • Know what connects to the internet and how. Nowadays even the TV connects to the internet. Your child will use all sorts of devices and gadgets; make sure you’re aware of which ones can connect to the internet, such as their phone or games console.
  • Also, find out how they are accessing the internet – is it your connection or a neighbour’s Wifi? This will affect whether your safety settings are being applied.
  • Consider the use of parental controls on devices that link to the internet, such as the TV, laptops, computers, games consoles and mobile phones.
  • Emphasise that not everyone is who they say they are. Make sure your child knows never to meet up with someone they only know online.

SOPOs

SEXUAL Offences Prevention Orders (SOPOs) are a type of civil order which can be made by a court after a conviction or applied for by the police.

They were introduced in their present form by Section 104 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003, but before this there had been similar orders available to the courts under Section 5 of the Sexual Offenders Act 1997.

A SOPO can ban a defendant from doing anything considered “necessary to protect the public from serious sexual harm by the defendant”.

The maximum penalty that can be given for breaching a SOPO is five years’ imprisonment.