Self-confessed paedophile blackmailed girls as young as 12 into becoming his sex slaves

Jordan Croft (26) from West Sussex pleaded guilty to 65 offences related to 26 victims following an investigation by the UK’s National Crime Agency.

Croft sought out girls aged 12-22 on online chat platforms and forced them to send him photographs and videos of themselves performing “sexual and other degrading acts” on themselves and others.

NCA investigators found that he had been in contact with over 5,000 people on one platform alone.

After getting his victims to send him a nude “custom pic” of his choosing, he used this to make further demands for what the NCA have described as “increasingly depraved and graphic content.”

“He set a list of rules they had to adhere to, which included moving their conversation to encrypted platform Telegram and sending any photos or videos he asked for,” a spokesperson for the NCA said.

“Many were forced to film themselves verbally confirming that they were entering into his ‘contract of sexual slavery’.”

“If the girls did not comply or asked to be released from the contract, he would set punishments and threaten to expose them to their family or social media followers.”

Officers arrested Jordan Croft in September 2019, after he was identified as the man behind various usernames featured in reports of online abuse filed at police stations across England.

Numerous devices, including two mobile phones and a USB stick were seized for analysis which led to the NCA uncovering the full extent of his offending, including a further 19 victims.

Both of the phones had an encrypted side to them, which was where the messaging applications he used were stored. It is also where Croft saved the abuse material his victims sent him, tagged with their names and ages, alongside a list of their social media followers.

Further indecent images of children were found on the USB stick which also contained a portable operating system.

When the USB was plugged into a computer, the system would ensure nothing was written to the computer’s hard disk and all trace of activity was deleted.

Chat logs uncovered showed that Croft initially pretended to be a teenage boy in order to befriend his victims, but once content they were going to follow his rules, he revealed his true age.

He also admitted to being a “catfish” and a “pedo [sic] into girls 12-14”.

He also told many of his victims that he had a degree in cyber security and had masked his online identity so he could not be traced by police.

Croft’s charges include multiple counts of causing or inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, blackmail, making unwarranted demands for Indecent Images Of Children (IIOC), intentionally causing or inciting the sexual exploitation of a child, and making over 900 IIOC in categories A-C.

He pleaded guilty to all 65 counts on August 9th at Lewes Crown Court and is due to be sentenced on November 10th.

“Jordan Croft is a prolific offender who has caused heart-breaking suffering to many victims and their families,” Martin Ludlow, senior investigating officer at the National Crime Agency said.

“The sexual depravity he consistently displayed during this abuse of both young female children and adults is horrific.

“Like many offenders, Croft thrived on the power he was able to exert over the victims. He sought the feeling of control and obtained it by deceit and abuse.”

“He showed no compassion for the victims, pushing them to breaking point and issuing threats, even when they begged him to stop.”

“I commend these young women who have shown such bravery in speaking out against him.”

“Croft is an example of an adult sexual offender who deploys plausible online profiles to hide their real identity and exploit children,” he continued.

“We know children are increasingly sharing personal material on social media sites, but I urge them be aware of the hurt and long-term damage manipulative offenders like Croft cause, and to think carefully about who they may be communicating with online.”